Purple Coneflower (Echinacea) Head

A purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) sits with its central seed cone turned toward the camera. Warm, late-afternoon light picks out orange tips on the spiky cone and bathes the magenta petals against a soft, out-of-focus background. Tiny pollen granules are visible on the cone and one petal edge is slightly torn near the lower right.