The Purple Coneflower Plant(Western Herb)
LATIN NAME: Echinacea purpurea The Purple Coneflower plant is also known as Purple Echinacea . GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND INFORMATION: The Purple Coneflower plant is a North American perennial known for its purple daisy like flowers with conical orange-brown centers packed with briskly scales. It has dark green leaves covered with coarse hairs and grows to approximately four feet tall. Echinacea purpurea is a taller plant than the Echinacea angustifolia plant. They are very similar in appearance but each species has slightly different effects, therefore specific disorders are best treated with one or the other. The plant is native central and eastern North American and grows in prairies and open woodlands. Echinacea has become one of the most popular and widely used herbs in North American and European herbal medicine. It was ignored as a remedy in the United States until the 1970s, when it was rediscovered by American herbalist. Today it is primarily used to reduce symptoms and duration of colds, flu, and upper respiratory tract infections, and to help boost the immune system. TARGET AILMENTS: Take internally for: * acne * bad breath * infected nails * colds and cough * croup * influenza * pneumonia * respiratory illnesses * mononucleosis * laryngitis * tonsillitis * gingivitis * toothache * strep throat * chicken pox * mumps * blood poisoning * poison oak * ear infection * chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) * kidney infection * yeast infection * candida albicans * staph Apply externally for: * cuts and sores * wounds * abscesses * hives * minor burns * psoriasis and eczema * acne * herpes PREPARATION AND DOSAGE: Over the counter: The Purple Coneflower plant is available as tincture, capsule, tablet, powder, bulk herb, and tea bag. It is also available as lozenge, mouthwash, throat spray, and soap in health food stores. At home: Tea Decoction Ointment or Salve Parts used: Roots, flowers, seeds Collection: Leaves and other above ground parts of the plant are gathered or harvested in mid-summer, while the plant is flowering. Roots and rhizome (underground stems) are gathered in autumn and dried. Constituents: Volatile oil, inulin, inuloid, sucrose, vulose, glycoside, phenolics echinacoside, luteolin, rutin Actions: Anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antiviral, detoxifying Combinations: Combine Purple Echinacea with Yarrow and Bearberry (Uva Ursi) to treat cystitis. SAFETY AND SIDE EFFECTS * Purple Echinacea should be taken with vitamin E, because it can deplete the body’s stores of vitamin E. * People with autoimmune disease should not take Echinacea. * Echinacea should not be used continuously, only for a few weeks at a time. * Do not give to children under the age of two. * Anyone with allergies to ragweed or to plants in the sunflower family should use this herb with caution.
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