[3][5] Echinacea paradoxa is a perennial herb up to 90 cm (3 ft) tall with multiple, slightly hairy stems arising from the rootstock.

paradoxa, or yellow coneflower, is endemic to the Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas.

neglecta, or Bush's purple coneflower, is currently only known to exist in the wild in the Arbuckle Mountains region of southeastern Oklahoma.

One isolated population was reported from Montgomery County in eastern Texas.

It is listed as critically imperiled in Oklahoma and presumed extirpated in Texas.