Have you ever approached a mature echinacea flower, anticipating a soft and velvety welcome when you reach out and touch it, only to be jabbed by a surprisingly sharp and spiky cone? Those pink petals give the illusion of a fragility that certainly doesn’t exist! Each of those spiny points are actually individual flowers, with each flowerhead containing somewhere between 200-300 separate flowers. So again, all is not quite what it seems with these flowers.
Echinacea is everywhere, dotting lawns and gardens, planters for pollinators at vegetable farms, growing wild in fields and prairies. It beckons to us with the sweetness of its young blooms and later with the proud and upright mature flowers. Echinacea is that way when it interacts with our bodies - gentle but firm and certainly nothing to be trifled with.
Echinacea has a lot to be proud of, head thrown back and petals at her side. A supreme immune stimulator, this is our go to choice at the first signs of illnesses such as the flu, common cold, sinus infections, and sore throats. Echinacea also helps our bodies navigate urinary tract, ear, and respiratory infections, so it’s an ally to keep close year round, not just over the colder seasons. She strengthens and clears our lymph nodes, bolstering our bodies against both bacterial and viral infections as well as having anti-fungal properties. A beautiful, strong, and discerning friend to have around, for sure!
This potent medicine is not for regular, every day use, though. She is reserved for when our immune system is in a higher state of activity and needs support and an extra hand. The immune system effects of echinacea begin to fade after about 10 days, which is why it is important to begin using the plant as soon as we start to feel under the weather.
You can take echinacea as a tea several times a day, but you’ll need to be sure to make the tea with at least 1 tablespoon of herb per 8 ounces of water; it’s a lot of herb and flavor! A whole plant tincture is arguably the most effective route of administration, as a tincture like ours incorporates the whole plant and all of the different bits of immune stimulating magic that echinacea has to offer, from roots to leaves to flowers. Uniquely potent medicine from a uniquely powerful plant ally!
