What is hard to pronounce, still listed as a weed in most gardening books, and now the most popular medicinal herb in the U.S.? Echinacea! (Say eck-i-NAY-shuh). This lovely purple coneflower, one of North America’s native wildflowers, has been used medicinally for centuries by Native Americans as well as European settlers. Now it is available commercially in many different forms.

Echinacea is one of the safest herbs in use today. There are three main species of echinacea available commercially as herbal supplements. The most common of these is Echinacea purpurea, the “standard†purple coneflower. The other two species are Echinacea angustifolia, also a purple coneflower, and Echinacea pallida, a pale lavender version.

The root of Echinacea angustifolia loses is potency quickly when dried, so it must be used immediately after digging or made into a tincture while still fresh. Capsules and teas are, by their nature, made of dried plant matter, so stick with the E. purpurea and E. pallida species in these forms. Tinctures that include E. angustifolia should note on the label that they are made with the fresh (not dried) root for the greatest potency. Preparations containing ….more