Purple Coneflower

Description:

Echinacea purpurea (eastern purple coneflowe or purple coneflower) is a North American species of flowering plant in the sunflower family. It is native to 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.

Habitat:

Spotted in Orto Botanico di Firenze (Botanical Garden of Florence) in Italy.

Notes:

One study shows E. purpurea has antidepressant properties in white rats as it increased the stimulating action of L-DOPA. Echinacea is believed by many people to stimulate the immune system. In indigenous medicine of the native American Indians, the plant is used externally for wounds, burns, and insect bites, chewing of roots for toothache and throat infections; internal application is used for pain, cough, stomach cramps and snake bites.