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Echinacea purpurea
Echinacea purpurea (eastern purple coneflower, purple coneflower, hedgehog coneflower, or echinacea) is a North American species of flowering plant in the sunflower family. It is native to parts of eastern North America and present to some extent in the wild in much of the eastern, southeastern and midwestern United States as well as in the Canadian Province of Ontario. It is most common in the Ozarks and in the Mississippi/Ohio Valley. Its habitats include dry open woods, prairies and barrens. Echinacea purpurea is an herbaceous perennial up to 120 cm (47 in) tall by 25 cm (10 in) wide at maturity. Depending on the climate, it blooms throughout summer into autumn. Its cone-shaped flowering heads are usually, but not always, purple in the wild. Its individual flowers (florets) within the flower head are hermaphroditic, having both male and female organs in each flower. It is pollinated by butterflies and bees. The alternate leaves, borne by a petiole from 0 to 17 cm, are oval to lanceolate, 5-30 x 5-12 cm; the margin is tightened to toothed. The inflorescence is a capitulum, 7 to 15 cm in diameter, formed by a prominent domed central protuberance consisting of multiple small yellow florets. These are surrounded by a ring of pink or purple ligulate florets. The tubular florets are hermaphrodite while the ligular florets are sterile. The involucral bracts are linear to lanceolate. The plant prefers well-drained soils in full sun. The fruit is an achene, sought after by birds
Plum Creek Nature Center at Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve. Spotted in a restored prairie area adjacent to the nature center. Surrounded by forested area with a small lake.
Native Americans used the plant to treat many ailments, including wounds, burns, insect bites, toothaches, throat infections, pain, cough, stomach cramps, and snake bites. Research has shown how the purple coneflower stimulates the immune system, leading to renewed interest for treating immunodeficiencies, lowering the glycemia and "boosting" healthy immune systems during periods of stress or pandemic, anxiety, and inflammation. Echinacea purpurea is used in pharmaceutics because of its ability to mobilize leukocytes, activate phagocytosis, and stimulate fibroblast formation. It has been implemented in chemotherapy medications and is one of the most widely medically cultivated species of its genus
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