Echinacea pallida
| Echinacea pallida | |
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| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Late Summer-Early Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Nectary | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Echinacea pallida (common names: cone flower and pale purple coneflower)
Propagation: Seed - sow March/April in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed[1][K]. Diurnal temperature fluctuations aid germination[1]. The seed usually germinates in 10 - 21 days at 25°c[1]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for the first summer. Plant them out in the late spring or early summer of the following year and give them some protection from slugs at least until they are established[K].
Division in spring or autumn[2]. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.
Root cuttings, October in a frame[3].
Cultivation: Succeeds in ordinary garden soil[2] but prefers a deep rich loam with plenty of leafmold[4] and a sunny position[1].
Slugs love this plant[K].
Range: N. America - Michigan to Nebraska and south to Texas.
Habitat: Dry soils[5] on prairies and barrens[6]. Sandy open woods and prairies in Texas[7].
Medicinal: Plants in this genus were probably the most frequently used of N. American Indian herbal remedies, though this species is considered to be less active than E. angustifolia[8]. They had a very wide range of applications and many of these uses have been confirmed by modern science. The plant has a general stimulatory effect on the immune system and is widely used in modern herbal treatments[8]. There has been some doubt over the ability of the body to absorb the medicinally active ingredients orally (intravenous injections being considered the only effective way to administer the plant), but recent research has demonstrated significant absorption from orally administered applications[8]. In Germany over 200 pharmaceutical preparations are made from Echinacea[8]. The roots and the whole plant are considered particularly beneficial in the treatment of sores, wounds, burns etc, possessing cortisone-like and antibacterial activity[8]. The plant was used by N. American Indians as a universal application to treat the bites and stings of all types of insects[9]. An infusion of the plant was also used to treat snakebites[9].
The plant is adaptogen, alterative, antiseptic, depurative, diaphoretic, digestive, sialagogue[10][11][12][13][9]. It is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use[14].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Bird, Alfred. Focus on Plants Volume 5. Thompson and Morgan, 1991.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sanders, Thomas. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge, 1926.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Diggs, George and Barney Lipscomb. Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute, 1999.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Mills, Simon. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
- ↑ Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.