Jump to content
MrsSurvival Discussion Forums

Echinacea angustifolia


Lois

Recommended Posts

Echinacea

Botanical: Echinacea angustifolia (DE CANDOLLE)

Family: N.O. Compositae

Synonyms---Black Sampson. Coneflower.

Parts Used---Root, dried; also rhizome.

Habitat---America, west of Ohio, and cultivated in Britain.

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/e/echina01.html

 

Description---Named Echinacea by Linnaeus, and Rudbeckia, after Rudbeck, father and son, who were his predecessors at Upsala.

The flowers are a rich purple and the florets are seated round a high cone; seeds, four-sided achenes. Root tapering, cylindrical, entire, slightly spiral, longitudinally furrowed; fracture short, fibrous; bark thin; wood, thick, in alternate porous, yellowish and black transverse wedges, and the rhizome has a circular pith. It has a faint aromatic smell, with a sweetish taste, leaving a tingling sensation in the mouth not unlike Aconitum napellus, but without its lasting numbing effect.

Constituents---Oil and resin both in wood and bark and masses of inulin, inuloid, sucrose, vulose, betaine, two phytosterols and fatty acids, oleic, cerotic, linolic and palmatic.

Medicinal Action and Uses---Echinacea increases bodily resistance to infection and is used for boils, erysipelas, septicaemia, cancer, syphilis and other impurities of the blood, its action being antiseptic. It has also useful properties as a strong alterative and aphrodisiac. As an injection, the extract has been used for haemorrhoids and a tincture of the fresh root has been found beneficial in diphtheria and putrid fevers.

Other Species---

Echinacea purpurea has similar properties to E. angustifolia; the fresh root of this is the part used.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And from this site: http://www.tempestwolf.com/herbs/herbs/e/echinaceaea.htm

 

Echinacea is said to work best on non-chronic illnesses.

Preventative:

Many people take Echinacea every day as a preventative; however this method will result in the gradual resistance of the body to the herb. Instead, try taking Echinacea for a week, then stopping for a week, then taking it again for a week. By alternating weeks, you can boost your immune system, yet still allow your body the chance to rest. Besides, it saves you 50% of the money you spent since you're using Echinacea only half the time

Preparation notes:

Another interesting debate about this plant is that some say that only alcohol can effectively draw out its medicinal properties, while others say that preparing this plant in alcohol eliminates its effectiveness. While I have not yet used Echinacea in tincture form, I have made several effective teas and decoctions out of it.

It is said that the soil and weather conditions surrounding a plant's growth affect its medicinal effectiveness and while that is most certainly true, it is also said that Echinacea is very sensitive to such conditions

I have also read warnings on preparing Echinacea. These warnings state that extreme care should be used as Echinacea is a very sensitive herb and the slightest thing gone wrong in making medicinal preparations or drying the plant can dramatically reduce the effectiveness of this herb. Personally, I haven't found the plant to be as sensitive as some say, but then again, I'm one of those people who can grow roses anywhere I put them, ignore them and watch them bloom beautifully time after time.

 

Echinacea is reported to taste terrible, however, I love the taste (and often get strange looks for saying so). So, for those of you who can't stand the taste of Echinacea, it is not recommended that you disguise the taste with sweeteners. Instead, try adding Spearmint, or try it as a tincture. If you're worried about the alcohol, then try it as an apple cider vinegar tincture. A few drops of tincture can be added to a glass of water and drunk, or, for the bold, a few drops of tincture under the tongue (to help avoid the taste) and swallowed.

Link to comment
  • 2 years later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.