Mexican Hat
Ratibida columnaris

These flowers look like a Mexican sombrero. They are also called coneflowers or thimbleflowers. They are yellow-orange to deep reddish-orange. Sometimes the flowers are yellow while others only have yellow tips. A tall, finger-like stem grows above the petals. It is gray-green and turns brown as the flower ages. Mexican hats can be used for making dye.

• Mexican hats grow 1 to 3 feet high
• They grow throughout Texas.
• Mexican hats bloom from May until July along roadsides and in fields.
• This flower is part of the sunflower family.