Echinacea tennesseensis (Beadle) Small, one of the first species to be named to the Federal endangered species list, has been treated as a separate species, a variety of Echinacea angustifolia, and Fernald (1900) merged it with Echinacea angustifolia. Beadle (1898) first described the plant as a distinct taxon, calling it Brauneria tennesseensis. Fernald (1900) argued against Beadle's "Brauneria tennesseensis" as distinct from Echinacea angustifolia. Blake (1929) reduced it to a variety of Echinacea angustifolia, also cited by Sharp (1935). Small (1933) gave the plant its present name and taxonomic position. McGregor (1968) again recognized it as a distinct species. Cronquist (1980) treats this taxon as "an eastern outlier of [E. pallida] var. angustifolia." Observations of living specimens of Echinacea tennesseensis and the closely related Echinacea angustifolia var. angustifolia reveals distinct organisms deserving of species status.

Echinacea tenn.85150 (1)