Echinacea
E. purpurea, angustifolia, pallida
The two most popular species are purpurea and angustifolia.
Personality:
Echinacea is a strikingly beautiful plant, when in flower. One of its common names is ‘purple cone flower. As a tincture (its most common form of preparation) it has a peppery taste, leaving a distinct tingle on the tongue, which lingers for some time. It is warming.
Sources:
angustifolia is generally wild-crafted from southern USA. purpurea is easier to cultivate in the wetter British climate and is grown quite extensively here. As one of the most popular herbs in both Europe and America, it is very widely available (usually in tincture but also tablet and capsule form) in health food shops and from herbalists.
Anecdotes:
Echinacea has been used so much as ‘the herbal antibiotic’ that some medical herbalists see it as an unimaginative, easy option, when prescribing for infections. Indeed there are many excellent herbs which are generally ignored because they are less well known. Echinacea is however a potent and thoroughly researched herb and difficult to beat as a general ‘anti-infective’ remedy.
Uses:
Echinacea works mainly by stimulating the body’s immune response and is therefore effective in a very wide range of both bacterial and viral infections. Its traditional uses include respiratory infections and boils. Often used as a preventative remedy for winter coughs and colds. Older herbals concentrate on its use as a ‘blood cleansing’ remedy in toxic conditions.
Actions:
Warming, cleansing, anti-infective.
Dosage and preparations:
The root is generally considered more active, so preparations using the root only or whole plant are preferable to those using the leaf. Strengths of tinctures are usually given in weight to volume e.g. from 1:5 (weakest) to 1:1 (strongest). Genuine strength is more accurately given by the % solids in the tincture (typically 1 - 2.5). Typical dosage for an average tincture is 1-2ml, three times per day.