Eat More Echinacea 

Echinacea is nine species of wildflower indigenous to North America. First used by the Native Americans and then by the pioneers, echinacea is today frequently found in gardens and health food stores. The genus name is from the Greek echino, meaning "spiny". Echinacea is in the family Asteraceae, all menbers of the family Asteraceae are native to eastern North America. All nine species of echinacea are tall perennial, drought-tolerant, herbaceous, plants with purple, daisy-like flowers and lance-like leaves about 15cm long. Flowering begins in early summer and lasts about 4 weeks.

Echinacea can still be found growing as a wildflower mostly in the prairies, the midwest states, and as far south as Texas. Native Echinacea species are dwindling in the wild due to loss of habitat and over-harvesting. In many areas wild populations are under great stress. Several herbalist I talked to who have been gathering wild echinacea for many years say echinacea is getting harder and harder to find in many areas. There is no danger of echinacea becoming extinct because it is grown in gardens and commercial herb farms.


        

Photo by Ulf Eliasson 


Three Medicinal Species 

The three medicinal species of the genus Echinacea are Echinacea purpurea, Echinacea pallida and Echinacea angustifolia. All three species contain multiple medicinally active constituents in their flowerheads, leaves, and roots. The root or above-ground part of the plant during the flowering growth phase is used medicinally. The majority of clinical studies performed have involved fresh juice of the flowering Echinacea purpurea.



Echinacea for Colds 

Echinacea is available in capsules, expressed juice, tinctures, and teas. With millions of dollars in annual sales, echinacea is one of the most popular medicinal herbs used to treat colds. Native Americans were noted to use echinacea both topically and systemically for ailments such as burns, snakebites, pain, cough, and sore throat or when you are just feeling run down.

Echinacea is most effective in the first 48 hours of use, miss this window, then echinacea may not be nearly be as effective. It is less effective if used longer than 2 to 3 weeks. Echinacea is also a blood cleanser, it helps to move dead cells and other debris through the channels of the lymphatic system. It does not work the like most common cold remedys, which just relieves the symptoms of a cold. Instead, echinacea works by stimulating and strengthening the body’s own immune system so the body can better fight the cold.


        

Photo by Bruce Marlin 


Classification for Echinacea:

Kingdom Plantae - Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta - Vascular plants
Superdivision Spermatophyta - Seed plants
Division Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons
Subclass Asteridae Order Asterales
Family Asteraceae - Aster family
Nine species of the Genus Echinacea


The Nine Species of Echinacea

Echinacea angustifolia - Narrow-leaf Coneflower

Echinacea atrorubens - Topeka Purple Coneflower

Echinacea laevigata - Smooth Coneflower, Smooth Purple Coneflower

Echinacea pallida - Pale Purple Coneflower

Echinacea paradoxa - Yellow Coneflower, Bush's Purple Coneflower

Echinacea purpurea - Purple Coneflower, Eastern Purple Coneflower

Echinacea sanguinea - Sanguin Purple Coneflower

Echinacea simulata - Wavyleaf Purple Coneflower

Echinacea tennesseensis - Tennessee Coneflower