< previous page | page_7 | next page >
Page 7
| Introducing Echinacea |
| Echinacea is called "purple coneflower" because of the beautiful, purple elliptical petals radiating out from its flowering head. The basis of its name, echinos, comes from the Greek word-root for "hedgehog," referring to echinacea's spiny seed head. Echinacea is an erect perennial varying in height and breadth from the smallest variety, Echinacea angustifolia, a very spindly one-half to two feet tall (when growing in the wild) with sparse foliage, to Echinacea purpurea, a much denser plant, reaching a height of four to five feet. Echinacea's North American growing range reaches as far south as Texas and as far north as North Dakota and Canada. |
| The cylindrical tap roots of commercially available E. angustifolia are long and slender, usually somewhat thicker than a pencil, occasionally larger, and of various lengths, usually five to eight inches in length. However, in the ground they are much longer, anywhere from 12 inches to almost two feet in length. Much of the thinner portion of the root is broken off in digging or handling. The roots are grayish to dark brown or blackish with long, wrinkled longitudinal furrows. They are very pithy, breaking easily, with the inside displaying characteristic medullary rays. The odor is very faint, but characteristic. The taste is an unmistakable sweetish and acrid flavor followed by a substantial tingling or numbing sensation. Ideally, the roots should not be picked before they are three to four years old in order to fully mature. Echinacea pallida roots are typically much larger than E. angustifolia but otherwise share many of the same |
< previous page | page_7 | next page >

If you like this book, buy it!