Echinacea purpurea (Echinacea purpurea)

Also called Coneflower, Echinacea is a beautiful native perennial with pink rosy petals. The genus name is from the Greek word “echino” which means hedgehog and alludes to the spiny, copper brown central disk of the flower. Each composite flower is a compact arrangement of ray and disk flowers which make it a feast for pollinators such as honeybees, hummingbirds and many different kinds of butterflies. Echinacea has become a very popular plant in perennial gardens for good reason. The plant blooms over several months, is drought tolerant and looks stunning amongst other flowering plants. Echinacea is also among the most popular herbal plants found in the west, so much so that this plant is endangered in the wild due to over harvesting. Varying species of Echinacea were used for hundreds of years by Native Americans. The Ute peoples called Echinacea “elk root” after wounded and sick elk were observed eating the plant. This coneflower was also considered one of the sacred Life Medicines