Echinacea purpurea
| Echinacea purpurea | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Tribe: | Heliantheae |
| Genus: | Echinacea |
| Species: | E. purpurea |
| Binomial name | |
| Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench |
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| Synonyms | |
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Brauneria purpurea (L.) Britt. |
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Echinacea purpurea (eastern purple coneflower or purple coneflower) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Echinacea of the family Asteraceae.[1] Its cone-shaped flowering heads are usually, but not always, purple in the wild.[2] It is native to eastern North America[1] and present to some extent in the wild in much of the eastern, southeastern and midwest United States.[3]
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Description[edit]
This herbaceous perennial is 120 cm (47 in) tall by 50 cm (20 in) wide at maturity. Depending on the climate, it blooms throughout spring and summer. Its individual flowers (florets) within the flower head are hermaphroditic, having both male and female organs on each flower. It is pollinated by butterflies and bees. Its habitats include dry open woods, prairies and barrens, as well as cultivated beds. Although the plant prefers loamy or sandy, well-drained soils, it is little affected by the soil's pH.
Cultivation[edit]
E. purpurea is also grown as an ornamental plant, and numerous cultivars have been developed for flower quality and plant form.[2] Unable to grow in the shade, it thrives in either dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought once established. The following have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-
Propagation[edit]
It can be propagated either vegetatively or from seeds.[1] Useful vegetative techniques include division, root cuttings, and basal cuttings. Clumps can be divided, or broken into smaller bunches, which is normally done in the spring or autumn. Cuttings made from roots that are "pencil-sized" will develop into plants when started in late autumn or early winter.[2] Cuttings of basal shoots in the spring may be rooted when treated with rooting hormones.
Seed germination occurs best with daily temperature fluctuations[1] or after stratification,[7] which help to end dormancy. Seeds may be started indoors in advance of the growing season or outdoors after the growing season has started.
Predators[edit]
Medicinal properties[edit]
One study shows E. purpurea has antidepressant properties in white rats as it increased the stimulating action of L-DOPA.[8] Echinacea is believed by many people to stimulate the immune system.[9][10]
Gallery[edit]
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Close-up of E. purpurea, centre of the head showing many individual flowers
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A stand of E. purpurea
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Echinacea purpurea |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e "Echinacea purpurea - (L.)Moench.". Plants For A Future. June 2004. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
- ^ a b c Bruce Zimmerman. Echinacea: Not always a purple coneflower.
- ^ "Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench (eastern purple coneflower)". PLANTS Profile. United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
- ^ http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=5372
- ^ http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=4910
- ^ http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=4725
- ^ USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Eastern Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
- ^ "SpringerLink - Journal Article". www.springerlink.com. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
- ^ http://nccam.nih.gov/health/echinacea/ataglance.htm
- ^ Sadigh-Eteghad S, khayat-Nuri H, Abadi N, Ghavami S, Golabi M, Shanebandi D (2011). "Synergetic effects of oral administration of levamisole and Echinacea purpurea on immune response in Wistar rat". Res Vet Sci. 91 (1): 82–5. doi:10.1016/j.rvsc.2010.07.027. PMID 20797737.
Further reading[edit]
- Amira M. K. Abouelella, Yasser E. Shahein, Sameh S. Tawfik, Ahmed M. Zahran. Phytotherapeutic effects of Echinacea purpurea in gamma-irradiated mice. [J. Vet. Sci., 8(4): 341-351 (2007)].
- Blanchan, Neltje (2005). Wild Flowers Worth Knowing. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.
- FE Koen, "The Influence of Echinacea Purpurea On The Hypophyseal-Adrenal System;" Arzneimittel-Forschung 3 (1953): 133-137. 8.
External links[edit]
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Wikiversity has bloom time data for Echinacea purpurea on the Bloom Clock |
- Echinacea
- Flora of the Eastern United States
- Flora of the Southeastern United States
- Flora of the Southwestern United States
- Flora of the Plains-Midwest (United States)
- Flora of Texas
- Flora of Alabama
- Native Forbs of Ontario
- Butterfly food plants
- Garden plants of North America
- Medicinal plants of North America
- Plants and pollinators
- Flora of the United States
