Mexican Hat, Prairie Coneflower, Upright Prairie ConeflowerRatibida columniferaSunflower Family (Asteraceae)

​Found on dry slopes, by roadsides
Seen blooming on June 30, 2018 by Hwy 554

Grows from 1 to 3 feet tall in a clump with narrow, deeply divided leaves. The flower-head is a purplish-green cylindrical cone up to 2½"' high skirted by drooping, usually yellow, sometimes reddish, petals. It is native but is grown as an ornamental so can escape back into the wild. A pleasant tasting tea is made from the leaves and flower head. The plant has medicinal properties that are pain-relieving and fever-reducing. A tea has been used to relieve the pain of headaches and to treat stomach aches and fevers. The Cheyenne made a tea from boiling plant parts as a wash to relieve pain and to treat poison ivy rash, and also as a wash to draw the poison out of rattlesnake bites. The Sicangu people in South Dakota used a tea of plant tops for headaches and stomachaches. The Acoma and Laguna Indians used crushed leaves rubbed on mothers' breast to wean a child. Source.

​If you want to identify a different flower then you might find it useful to check what was blooming this time last year. If you cannot identify a flower from the website send a photo and where you took it to contact@rockymountainsflora.com. Read online for tips.   

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