Purple coneflower (echinacea)
Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench
Botanical family: Asteraceae
A North American perennial of dry meadows, with large purple daisy-like flowers, whose roots and aerial parts are used during colds.
Full sun
Ordinary, well-drained, tolerates drought
Low, tolerates drought once established
Very hardy
Overwinters in your zone
Role in permaculture
A very nectar-bearing meadow perennial (butterflies, bumblebees), a medicinal recognised by the EMA (common cold). Superb in a flowering edging, it attracts pollinators all summer.
Good companions
Attract pollinators and beneficial insects
Traditional companion planting (benefit not demonstrated)
Insects attracted or useful
Seasons & availability
Flowers in summer, root in autumn; dried, they are available all year round.
Available: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.
Guidance for the oceanic / temperate climate; it may vary with your region, altitude, exposure and growing method.
Sources
- Plants For A Future, « Echinacea purpurea » (pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Echinacea+purpurea)
- Ministère de l'Agriculture de l'Ontario, Promo-Cultures, « Échinacée » (omafra.gov.on.ca/CropOp/fr/herbs/medicinal/echin.html)
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
Short courses (a few weeks); not advised in case of autoimmune disease; caution if allergic to Asteraceae; reserved for adults and adolescents over 12 (EMA).
Family behaviour: Asteraceae
In general, Asteraceae are a family rich in flowers appreciated by pollinators and beneficials (pot marigold, yarrow, chamomile). It is very scattered, from the mildest lettuce to the allelopathic sunflower.
Understanding families means learning one rule per family rather than every pairing one by one. Learn more →
Species & varieties
The best-known species and varieties in France.
Species
Common varieties
Voices of peoples
Paraphrases attributed to their documented sources. Never an invented quote.
Lakota (Sioux), Pawnee, and Dakota, Plains peoples documented by the ethnobotanist Melvin R. Gilmore · Missouri Valley, North American Great Plains; survey published in 1919
In Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region (1919), the ethnobotanist Melvin R. Gilmore reports that echinacea 'seems to have been used as a remedy for more ailments than any other plant'. What his survey attests are precise uses recorded in the early 20th century: the Lakota named it icahpe hu and used it against snakebites, toothaches, sore throats, and pains. The enthusiastic phrase, for its part, remains the observer's appraisal, not a measure of efficacy.
Melvin R. Gilmore, Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region (1919).
A traditional use documented by a named ethnobotanical survey, and not a claim of modern medical efficacy. Precise peoples are named, Lakota, Pawnee, Dakota, rather than resorting to the generic 'the Native Americans', which essentialises. Nothing here is presented as a validated remedy.
Key takeaways
- • Prefers full sun exposure.
- • Ideal soil: ordinary, well-drained, tolerates drought.
- • Classic companion: Yarrow.