Ratibida columnifera. Prairie Coneflower is a perennial native to the Great Plains and found in scatted regions to the east. The upper one-third of the stem is bare except for the flower heads. The flower heads consist of several hundred tiny purplish-brown flowers that form a cylinder about one inch long. At the bottom of the cylinder appear about a half-dozen bright yellow rays about an inch long. It grows to about a foot and a half.