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Description
A stunning and easy-to-grow addition to every herb garden, Echinacea purpurea – also known as purple coneflower – is an essential of every herbal apothecary. Its stimulating sweet and spicy tingly-taste reveals its potential for galvanizing immunity. The bees and butterflies certainly seem to enjoy it.
The name ‘echinacea’ is derived from the Greek word ‘echino’ which means ‘sea urchin’ or ‘hedgehog’. This was chosen because it aptly described the spiny central disc of the echinacea flowers. Traditionally, echinacea was used in Native American medical traditions to treat snake bites and blood poisoning.
Of the echinacea species used in herbal medicine, Echinacea purpurea is the easiest to grow across a wide range of ecosystems and soil types – (E. angustifolia and E. pallida are the others most commonly used). As it has a fibrous root it it does better with wider spacing (30-60cm) to help it access an even amount of nutrients nearer the soil surface.
