Echinacea

Echinacea angustifolia, E. purpurea

flower

Purple flowers with a domed centre, and roots, of a North American plant, dried for tea. They provide caffeic acid derivatives.

Origin

Great Plains of North America

Season (United States)

all year round · grows in your region

Preparation

One teaspoon of dried flowers per cup, ten minutes in barely simmering water; the root is simmered for ten minutes before steeping. The infusion is strained and drunk.

Did you know?

Its name comes from the Greek ekhînos, “sea urchin, hedgehog”, for the spiny centre of its flower; the Native peoples of the Great Plains used it long before Europe did.