Herb of the Week: Purple Cone Flower!

Happy Monday Fellow Foragers! We are back to talk about our herb of the week; The Purple Cone Flower AKA Echinacea!

Quick Fun Fact: The genus name is from the Greek echinos meaning "hedgehog", alluding to the spiny, brownish central disc on the flower.

The purple coneflower is a beautiful perennial flower with smooth stems and long-lasting lavender flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds! These flowers can get quite aggressive, however, not only are they beautiful, but having a field of pollinators is quite amazing also!

Besides their cosmetic addition, the purple coneflower offers much more than a pretty view! Medicinally, the leaf, flower, and root are used in teas, tinctures, and oils. Considered a mild antibiotic, echinacea stops bacteria from forming the hyaluronidase enzyme which helps make cells more susceptible to infection. It is used for the common cold, coughs, bronchitis, upper respiratory infections, and some inflammatory conditions.

Check out this recipe for homemade echinacea tea!

• Simmer 8 oz of water in a small pot over medium heat.

• Add the fresh or dried Echinacea

• Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

• Strain tea into a mug and add honey!

I hope you enjoyed and learned a little bit about echinacea, and maybe next time you see this beautiful flower somewhere you will remember how important this flower can be to our everyday health! Thank you for reading and please subscribe so you don't miss anything!

Keep Foraging On!

Love and Mushrooms,

Ginger

(www.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)