Prairie Coreopsis (Coreopsis palmata)

 

Prairie Coreopsis (Coreopsis palmata)

Prairie Coreopsis can grow up to 18 to 30 inches tall and 12 to 18 inches wide. The flowers are bright yellow and daisy-like. They are about 1-1/2 to 2 inches in diameter and have eight broad ray florets rather than four lobes. The leaves are simple but deeply divided into three narrow lobes that look like long ovals with slightly pointed tips. The lobes radiate from a single point, giving the leaf a hand-like appearance. It grows in full to partial sun in dry to mid-range soil moisture in fields, meadows, and prairies.

Its midsummer blooms provide nectar and pollen for a wide range of native bees, including small sweat bees, mining bees, and leafcutter bees, as well as beetles and hover flies. The flat flower heads also attract butterflies that use them as both nectar sources and landing platforms. Its dense, slowly spreading rhizomes help stabilize thin prairie soils and contribute to the long-term structure of dry-mesic plant communities. Because it flowers during a seasonal gap between spring ephemerals and late-summer composites, it supports pollinators at a time when nectar resources can otherwise be limited.

Sources:

Illinois Wildflowers – Prairie Coreopsis

Minnesota Wildflowers – Coreopsis palmata

USDA Plants Database – Coreopsis palmata

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Coreopsis palmata

Missouri Botanical Garden – Coreopsis palmata

 (sumx)