Purple Coneflower

Echinacea purpurea

Size: 1g availability

Flower
Max size: 5’ tall x 3’ wide
Average size: 4′ tall x 3′ wide

Usually Moist, Moist to Dry
Clay, Loam, Sand
Sun
Low tolerance to salt wind, but not to salt spray

Also known as: Eastern Purple Coneflower, Purple Coneflower, Purple Rudbeckia

Needs a reliable cold period to persist. Great as a mass planting in wildflower/butterfly gardens. Attracts small bird and mammal species with its seeds, and attracts many pollinators. It makes a good cut flower, lasting 3-7 days in a vase. It also does well dried and pressed, but must be cut in half to maintain its true shape.

The Choctaw chew the root and swallow the saliva but not the root itself, to alleviate coughing. Modern uses include drinking Echinacea tea for coughs. Delaware historically would combine its root with Rhys typhina, Staghorn Sumac, root to treat venereal diseases. Modern medical research shows that the roots have antiviral, bacterial, insecticidal, and immunostimulant properties, and regularly drinking the tea can improve overall general health.