Purple coneflower tea skin#
Purple coneflower tea full#

Johnson, Rebecca L., et al., National Geographic Guide to Medicinal Herbs. I recently used store-bought capsules and I think they helped! Here is one easy tea recipe from a book I read: 'Steep 1-2 teaspoons of Echinacea leaf/flower in 1 cup of boiling water, or boil 1 teaspoon of root in 1-2 cups of water for 10 minutes (1).'Įchinacea tastes bitter but otherwise I highly recommend it for the common cold. It can be made into a tea, tincture, capsule, or salve. People believe that it can help with a common cold and flu and strengthens the body's immune system. In the 1930s, it became popular in Europe, especially in Germany (1).Įchinacea is one of the most studied herbs today (1).

Purple coneflower tea skin#

In the late 1800s, 'Eclectic' American doctors began using it for skin and respiratory infections (1).

Some Native Americans used the spiny seed head as a hair comb! (3) When doctors were too far away, many Spanish settlers would go to a curandera (folk healer) and she would treat them with herbs including Echinacea.

Purple coneflower tea full#

It likes well-drained soil and full sun but will do well in part-shade (1).Įchinacea purpurea was native exclusively to North America (1), and used by Plains Indians for medicinal reasons including toothache, coughs, colds, sore throats, and snake bites (2). The whole plant is harvested about 6 inches above ground, or the root is dug in the fall of the 2nd or 4th year (1). It grows 2-4 feet high and has a fibrous root. When I saw it in October in El Jardin de la Curandera in the Albuquerque BioPark, it looked like a brown spiked club standing among its still green, heart-shaped leaves (See photo). To me, the seed pod head looks like a space ship flying upwards into the sun, with purple or pink petals like flames flying behind it.

Its genus name comes from the Greek word echinos meaning 'hedgehog' or 'sea urchin' (1). There are nine species of Echinacea but the most common is Echinacea purpurea (1). Other names include: snakeroot, narrow-leaved purple coneflower, scurvy root, Indian head, comb flower, black susans, and hedge hog (2). It is part of the Asteraceae, or daisy family. Its native range is central and eastern North America. Echinacea purpurea is very beautiful purple coneflower and herb used for a variety of ailments.Įchinacea purpurea is more often found in the gardens of New Mexico than in the wild.