Cone Flower - Echinacea

Echinacea Is a powerful flower that I use for immune boosting and cold or flu onset. I make teas, usually mixing the echinacea with other herbs and honey, since, while not disgusting, the taste is a little bitter. It is a member of the daisy family, which we all know holds a lot of weight in the medicinal plant genre. Like most powerhouses in the medicinal plant arena there is very little information that can be substantiated through sources. While there is some information out there, there are no echinacea lobbyists. So on the .gov site NCCIH, all they really tell you are warnings and no real information. While things like blueberries (which have a substantial lobby with the USDA),

"...in 1996, the USDA was given the sole authority to start a checkoff program for any commodity it wants — so we now have checkoff programs for mushrooms, watermelon, blueberries, and sorghum, among several others."

seem to get the spotlight in the medicinal arena, other medicinal plants get the side kick since the medical industrial complex uses extracts from these plants to sell you modified pills to subdue symptoms of disease. The medicinal value of many herbs is being suppressed so that you are convinced to buy prescriptions that are specifically made to generate income through dependency. The current system states that use of "traditional" medicine from plants is used by under-developed countries and cultures. They have instituted an approach to finding the actual properties of the plants and isolate the specific part then mass produce it mostly synthetically. It is a hard read but give a glance through this article put out by the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health .

"Medicinal plants have, however, not been “designed” to cure human diseases or alleviating their symptoms and undesired antagonistic effects are equally realistic. Re-engineer botanical drugs by designing extracts driven by therapy success could be a way forward toward “more intelligent mixtures”

Anyway, back on topic. Echinacea is a top notch medicinal plant! I use it to boost immunity. I also use it if im just feeling crappy and nothing else is working. There is not much in the way of scientific study for this plant, but throughout the ages it has been used notably for:

acid indigestion
attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
chronic fatigue syndrome
colds
diphtheria
dizziness
flu    
genital herpes
gum disease
immune boosting
malaria
migraine
pain
rattlesnake bite
rheumatism
septicemia - bloodstream infection
streptococcus infection
syphilis
tonsillitis
typhoid
urinary tract infection
vaginal yeast infection

I do not use it as a regular part of my day, though in the fall I use it as a tea preparing for the new flu season. I figure that if I can preemptively boost my system and add as much nutritional value as I can, I will be less likely to get the flu, and if I do, it will pass quick.

Echinacea is a powerhouse. In fact there are many warnings, if you buy it from a store, not to take if you have auto-immune diseases. This is due to the fact that auto-immune disease is a situation where the body's immune system is in overdrive. It is so active that it starts to attack itself. So, if I had an auto-immune disease, I would not take it since it would more than likely exacerbate the issue.

We, here in the Ozarks, have a special species of the cone flower family. It is called the Yellow Cone Flower. I find that the YCF is far more potent than the purple. The taste is far more bitter and the effects can actually be felt. I harvest in the early summer before it quits flowering. The only place I have found it, will remain a secret, is on a lonely dirt road in the middle of nowhere! I always harvest according to the 1/3 rule, and for the past two years since I have found it, it has increased in volume!

I have tried to dig out a root system and re-plant. Bad idea. Use seed.

I always do a substantial amount of research before I consume anything.

Well please up-vote and follow if you like my content. I will continue to post similar articles on plants, homegrown foods, gardening and homesteading ideas. Again thanks for dropping in. Remember that this is not medical advice nor do I prescribe anything to anyone. This post is for educational purposes only. Your body is your temple, treat it well. Have a great garden!

#medicinalplants

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