 'Purpurea' means 'reddish-purple'.Originally named Rudbeckia purpurea by Linnaeus in 1753 in Species plantarum 6 , it was reclassified in 1794 by Conrad Moench , in a new genus named Echinacea purpurea (L.).In 1818, Thomas Nuttall describes a new variety that he named Rudbeckia purpurea var.