What do the purple coneflower, the Australian anteater, and sea urchin have in common?
Echinacea purpurea has been used for centuries in herbal remedies. In Asia, the plant was adopted in Ayurvedic medicine. Native Americans employed it for treatment of insect bites and stings. In Western herbal medicine, Echinacea purpurea is used as a detoxicant and for its general stimulatory effect on the immune system. In Germany, in particular, where herbs are regulated by the government, the above-ground parts of the plant are approved to treat colds and upper respiratory tract infections.
Echinacea purpurea is also called the purple coneflower because of its color and shape. Its common name, however, does not reveal one of its most outstanding and noticeable features. Its genus identification (Echinacea) comes from the Greek word echino, meaning “spiny.” When touching the flower’s spiny center, one is reminded both of the spiny anteater, the echidna, and the sea urchin (phylum Echinodermata), affectionately called “hedgehog of the sea.”
With its soft petals and spiky center, the purple coneflower is a blossom of contrasts – which is precisely the point!
Echidna photo courtesy of Virtual Tourist.
Sea urchin photo courtesy of Brown University.
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Children notice flowers routinely, because they’re not much taller than stalks. Healthy riches are at our feet, if only we’d look downward.