angustifolia that possess immunostimulatory properties (Wagner and Proksch 1985, Wagner et al. Perhaps the most important finding so far is the discovery of large, highly active polysaccharide molecules in E. Italian investigators found the wound-healing effects of Echinacea to be attributable to echinacin B (Bonadea et al. A pentane-oil extracted from the root was found to be inhibitory to Walker carcinosarcoma 256 and P-388 lymphocytic leukemia (Voaden and Jacobson 1972). Echinacea angustifolia root was found to possess mild antibiotic activity against Streptococcus and Staphyloccus aureus (Stoll et al. If a cow or a horse did not eat well, people administered Echinacea in its feed.Įchinacea is widely used as an herbal remedy today, primarily as an immuno-stimulant. The use of the purple coneflower root was used by early settlers in Oklahoma as an aid in nearly every kind of sickness. The purple coneflower was the only native prairie plant popularized as a medicine by folk practitioners and doctors, and was used extensively as a folk remedy (Kindscher 1992). They would whirl two flower stalks one around the other, the two stalk touching by the flower heads. Purple coneflower stalks were used in play by Pawnee children. The Omaha, the Lakota, and the Ponca sometimes used the seed heads to comb their hair (Kindscher 1992). The smoke from burning purple coneflower was used as a treatment for distemper in horses by the Ponca, Dakota, Pawnee, and Winnebago.
Purple coneflower roots mixed with puffball (Lycoperdon species) spores and skunk oil were used in the treatment of boils. When the roots were mixed with blazing star (Mentzelia laevicaulis) and boiled, the resulting tea was drunk for smallpox (Kindscher 1992).
The Omaha and Ponca used the plant as eyewash. The Teton Sioux used coneflower to cure tonsillitis. The Lakota ate the root and green fruit when they were thirsty or perspiring (Rogers 1980, Munson 1981). Purple coneflower was used to increase endurance in the sweat lodge ceremony by the Dakota, Pawnee, Ponca, and Winnebago. A poultice of smashed roots were applied as an anesthetic to arms and hands by the Omaha, and a poultice was applied to enlarged glands as a treatment for diseases such as mumps by the Pawnee, Ponca, Dakota, and Winnebago. The Omaha and Pawnee used a smoke treatment as a remedy for headache. The Kiowa chewed coneflower root for coughs and sore throats. The Fox used purple coneflower as an anticonvulsive and gastro-intestinal aid. A wash was used as a dressing for burns to relieve pain by the Dakota, Winnebago, Omaha, Pawnee, and Ponca. The Cheyenne chewed the root to stimulate the flow of saliva, which was especially useful for Sun Dance participants as a thirst preventative (Hart 1981). The root was used to relieve toothache by the Dakota, Omaha, Pawnee, Ponca, Teton Sioux, and Winnebago (Moerman 1986). Purple coneflower is used as an antidote for poisonous conditions, snake bite, and other poisonous bites by the Winnebago, Ponca, Pawnee, Omaha, Dakota, and by most Montana tribes (Gilmore 1977). Echinacea angustifolia was used as an analgesic by the Cheyenne, the Dakota, the Fox, and the Winnebago (Moerman 1986). It was used as a painkiller and for a variety of ailments, including toothache, coughs, colds, sore throats, and snake bite. The purple coneflower, Echinacea angustifolia, was and still is the most widely used medicinal plant of the Plains Indians (Kindscher 1992). Goldfinches love the Echinacea seed crop and can clear out all the seed in a few days. Gophers and moles can be a problem, eating the roots.
Herbivores such as insects and deer are not a problem with Echinacea. For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site. It is found primarily in the Great Plains, east of the Rocky Mountains from Texas to Montana and Saskatchewan, to eastern Oklahoma, western Iowa, and western Minnesota. The purple coneflower grows in open rocky prairies and plains. Fruits are small, dark, 4- angled achenes. The disk flowers are 5-lobed, brownish-purple, and situated among stiff bracts. Spreading or drooping, light pink to pale purple. Flowers look like lavender sunflowers at the ends of long stalks. Leaves are alternate, simple, and narrowly lanceshaped. The plant has one to several rough-hairy stems, mostly unbranched. Purple coneflower is a perennial herb with a woody taproot.