Echinacea – Materia Medica

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Botanical Name: Echinacea Angustifolia / Echinacea Purpurea

 

2. Common Name(s): Echinacea Root

 

3. Habitat and Growing area: Found in the USA prairies. Found in Canada, and on our farm. I had a nice patch in my flower bed and put seeds into our field.  We currently have a beautiful colony growing wild in a meadow setting.

 

4. Pertinent Information on the Plant:

• Colds
• Flu
• Fevers
• Antibiotics (inhibits the growth of, or destroy, bacteria, viruses or amoebas)
• Infections (tea, tincture, poultice and plaster)
• Weak immune system
• Alterative (blood purifier)
• Lymphatic tonic
• Anti-microbials (destructive to microbes)
• Anti-Catarrhal (reduces inflamed mucous membranes of head and throat)
• Tonic (a substance that increases strength and tone)
• Acute inflammatory conditions
• Sialagogues (stimulate the flow of saliva)
• Pyorrhoea (degenerative disease of the gums)
• Skin (eczema, acne, boils, impetigo, herpes, ringworm)
• Best herb for blood and lymph purification
• Systems affected lungs, stomach, liver
• Cleansing wounds
• Herpes, Ear aches
• Bitter, pungent, cool

 

5. Your personal experience with the plant. Include your personal experience of tasting it and it’s effect on you.

• The taste is bitter, then burning sensation and creates excess of saliva – I like it!
• For years my family has been a firm believer of the power of Echinacea
• My kids will just start to take if they have a “feeling” of a cold coming on.
• There is real “science” about the effectiveness of this herb

 

6. The reference books used, author, page

 

Holistic Herbal

David Hoffmann

Pages (Ang)31, 32, 38, 43-45, 47, 53, 55, 58, 60, 74, 77, 79-81, 93, 99, 105, 109-111, 115, 117, 121, 127, 128, 130, 143, 144, 147, 183, 191, 197, 201, 203, 218, 221, 241

 

 

 

The way of Herbs

Michael Tierra

Pages (Ang)13, 26, 32, 33, 37, 131-33, 238-39, 310

 

The complete Encyclopedia of Herbs

Nico Vermeulen

Pages (Purp)114-115

 

Family Herbal

Rosemary Gladstar

Pages (Ang/Purp/Pal) 38, 74, 76, 80, 82, 83, 91, 92, 95, 96, 100, 104, 111, 184, 186, 187, 189, 191, 225, 242, 249, 256, 258, 277, 328-29

 

Peterson Field Guide

Easter/Central Medicinal Plants and Herbs

Steven Foster and James A. Duke

Pages 225-227