And also the common eupithecia ( eupithecia miserulata). Caterpillars of the blackberry looper moth ( chlorochlamys chloroleucaria) and wavy-lined emerald ( synchlora aerata) – both stunning green moths – will feed on the leaves too. The caterpillars of the silvery checkerspot ( chlosyne nycteis) feed on the foliage. Butterflies, skippers, a long list of bees and bee flies love it too! Local butterflies that will visit it include cabbage whites, fritillaries, monarchs, painted ladies, sulfurs and swallowtails. Goldfinches love the seeds and countless pollinators and some caterpillars will be all about the flowers and leaves.

But there are many more reasons to plant it in your landscape. It is perhaps the most popular native plant too. It’s somewhat at risk do to its popularity in herbal medicine. Boneset, which we covered recently, is possibly even more of an immunostimulant!Īs for our local First Nations, as far as I’ve seen its usage is for indigestion and in a salve for burns, like many astringent plants.īrowsing one of the books I own, Green Pharmacy, echinacea has one of largest lists in the index: antiaging, preventing cold and flu, athlete’s foot, bladder infections, breastfeeding problems, burns, bursitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, dry mouth, earache, gingivitis, herpesvirus, HIV infection, laryngitis, Lyme disease, pneumonia, sinusitis, sties, tendinitis, tonsillitis, tuberculosis, viral infections, wounds, and yeast infections – wow! Alternative Uses of Comb FlowerĪ green dye can be obtained from the flower of echinacea purpurea. Siberian ginseng is typically recommended for long term use. Safety wise, they say to limit usage to one week, or perhaps two. Fresh teas and tinctures in small doses are generally recommended. Supplements degrade in quality quickly with this plant, at least for the dried rootstalk. Do some say it’s overblown? There are a few.įinding a good product on the market is a careful process. Do herbalists I respect and who have a ton of experience use echinacea for the onset of colds? Many do. Did they use the proper formulation in these studies? Are the studies high quality? I’m doubtful, but here’s one assessment of two dozen studies. While I plan to shower every plant feature on this site with scientific studies in future rewrites, I haven’t explored these studies thoroughly yet. Studies at most show a small benefit if any. See Medicinal tag key for more information.Ĭommon usage includes the expressed juice or dried expressed juice mainly from echinacea angustifolia taken at the onset of a cold or flu to reduce the symptoms and length of illness. Medicinal tags include Alterative, Antimicrobial, Antiseptic, Astringent, Diaphoretic and Immunostimulant.

Medicinal Uses of EchinaceaĮchinacea is primarily said to support these body systems: The leaves and purple petals can be used raw in salads or as a potherb, similar to spinach. The entire plant is edible, although I can’t see one chewing up the stem or entire flower top. We’ll only cover the echinacea sort of coneflower in this feature.

However, some echinacea are native to Ontario and will grow up here in the highlands. But is any of that legit?Ĭutleaf coneflower ( rudbeckia laciniata) is a species of flowering plant widespread throughout North America and it’s included Haliburton Flora, but no actual echinacea ( echinacea spp.) are listed in Haliburton Flora. It’s one of if not the most popular plant in herbal medicine in recent decades, its sudden popularity heralding from a Swiss herbal medicine company after they learned some Native American tribes used it for colds. But are the claims about echinacea legit or overblown hype?įriend or fad? I’ll admit I’ve taken echinacea at the first sign of sniffles before. In Chippewa, gi’zuswe’bigwa’is meaning “it is scattering”, who hasn’t heard of echinacea? It’s one of the biggest fads in herbal medicine in recent decades.

Purple coneflower edible