Coneheads are not aliens!

Whatever Saturday Night Live propaganda you may have been exposed to its time to face the fact: Coneheads (and their parental units) are natives! Coneheads, i.e., the ones with purple heads also know as Purple Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea ) are plants native to North America!

These Coneheads are likely to be found in dry open woods, road banks and prairies from Ohio and Iowa, south to Louisiana and Georgia. In the garden they grow to 5 feet tall, prefer sun to part shade and dry soil. They bloom from June to October and are both heat and drought tolerant. The seeds will spread easily and will reshow in the garden. They can also be propagated by rootball division.

Coneheads-I mean Coneflowers-are great for wildlife. Insects and butterflies, including Tiger Swallowtails, love them for their nectar. Old flower heads provide seed for songbirds, including the beautiful American Goldfinch.

This plant has long been know for improving the body’s resistance to infections of all kinds. Native people used it for to ease headaches, toothaches and sore gums. It is the infamous “snake oil” of the past, used as a poultice for snake bites and blood poisoning.

Echinacea, the coneflower’s genus name, is said to have been derived from the Greek word for hedgehog, which its central cone resembles.

Check out the purple coneflower in the Freedom Park Bird and Butterfly Garden, at the corner of North Ave., and Candler Park Drive., in Northeast Atlanta.

(Internet sources: abnativeplants.com, Naturalways.com, hardyplants.com, Scienceviews.com., Ohio State University at Waterman Farm)