Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench

Purple coneflower, echinacea, eastern purple coneflower

Purple cornflower is native to eastern North America. The name is derived from the Greek word echinos (Εχίνος), meaning hedgehog, because the central disk flower has the spiny look of a hedgehog.

Plants: 2–4½′ (60–137 cm) tall and 1½–2′ (45–60 cm) around, with stems that are usually bristly or hairy.

Leaves: May be alternate or opposite, and may be ovate (sort of egg-shaped with a sharp tip) or more like a grass blade in shape, long and narrow. They are up to 6 ⨉ 3″ (15 ⨉ 7.6 cm), with widely spaced teeth and a sandpaper-like feel.

Flowers: These are composite flowers, resembling daisies, 2–5″ (5–12 cm) in dia­meter, with central yellow-brown disk flowers in a flattish or rounded mound, and 10-20 pink-purple ray flower petals. On close inspection, the central disk flowers often have red tips. The ray flowers often droop, accent­uating the central disk.

Fruits: The central cone flowers become gray seeds in the fall.

Habitats: Moist prairies, meadows and open woods.

Medical: Echinacea, especially this plant and the closely related Echinacea angustifolia, are wildly popular as immune system stimulants said to reduce the likelihood of getting colds, or to reduce their duration. Many small-scale studies have suggested possible benefits from preparations made from the roots. There is also some evidence that it is helpful in speeding wound recovery. But The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health, says:

• A study published in Annals of Internal Medicine in 2010 noted no significant improvements in duration or severity of illnesses in 713 participants.
• A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2005 noted “no significant effects” among the 437 study volunteers.
• Several other large, well-controlled studies also yielded negative results.

A 1998 study, published in Journal of the American Medical Association and the Archives of Family Medicine, was also negative. So was a 2004 study by the Department of Internal Medicine, Marshfield Clinic, and the Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Core, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation.

The Physician’s Desk Reference for Herbal Medicines, a tome that attempts to summarize what is really known about herbal medicines, has a large entry for echinacea. The plant contains alkamides, glycoproteins, caffeic acid derivatives, and polysac­charides that may have anti­bac­terial, anti-inflam­matory, collagen-protecting, or cytokine stimulation effects. However:

• A major 2006 Cochrane Collaboration review of 22 comparison trials con­cluded that the trials lacked sufficient controls necessary to draw hard conclu­sions.
• A major 2005 structured review evaluated 322 separate studies, finding that only two met 11 criteria designed to measure quality (e.g. double-blind­ing, quantifiable analysis, compli­ance testing, and ran­domized assignment for treatment). The two solidly designed studies did not find evidence echinacea helps in treatment of the common cold.
• Results for several specific studies were presented, showing contradictory results for whether echinacea preparations influence recovery times for colds, though there is evidence of some degree of symptom relief.

I don’t believe in unsubstantiated herbal cures. Of course some plants have curative properties; in fact, some of the most poisonous, properly used, can save lives. Foxglove comes to mind, used for digitalis. But taking drugs with unknown properties is, at best, expensive but harmless, and at worst, dangerous. In the case of echinacea, at least it is fairly harmless. However, it should definitely not be used in patients with pro­gressive systemic and autoimmune disorders, for example: tuberculosis, leicosis, connective tissue disorders, collagenosis, or lupus.

Online References:

References:

Older scientific or horticultural names

Echinacea purpurea description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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