Thursday, November 5, 2009

Echinacea: Today's Flowers


Echinacea purpurea (coneflower)

Named for the prickly scales in its large conical seed head, the herb resembles the spines of an angry hedgehog.  Echinos is Greek for hedgehog.

See more of Today's Flowers HERE.



LINKS and INFORMATION:
▪ garden guides.com
▪ attracts bees, butterflys, birds
▪ Native American medicinal plant, used to treat upper respiratory tract infection.  Echinacea contains several chemicals that play a role in its therapeutic effects--polysaccharides, glycoproteins, alkamides, volatile oils, and flavonoids. (Science is not in complete agreement on its effectiveness.)
▪ perennial which blooms mid-summer through early Fall, zones 3-9, full sun to part shade  (I grew mine from seed, and it has very slowly self-seeded over time.)

photos by me © 2009
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

15 comments:

  1. SunnyNovember 5, 2009 at 12:13 PM

    These are bee-u-tiful pictures.
    Sunny :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. BeadedTailNovember 5, 2009 at 3:06 PM

    I always love your flower photos! And you always make bees look so pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Linda E. PruittNovember 5, 2009 at 4:09 PM

    Echinacea is one of my favorite flowers; we had them growing almost wild in Missouri (when I loved there.)

    ReplyDelete
  4. SoBella CreationsNovember 5, 2009 at 4:44 PM

    Great flower photo!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Live, Love, Laugh, Write!November 5, 2009 at 6:22 PM

    I had no idea what the flower looked like! I've taken plenty of echinachea over the years trying to help bolster my immune system :P

    ReplyDelete
  6. elsieNovember 6, 2009 at 12:43 AM

    OK so I'm a HUGE Echinacea + Vitamin C popper at the first sign of a cold or sore throat and I had NO IDEA that is is such a gorgeous flower!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Memories for LifeNovember 6, 2009 at 2:14 AM

    Great macro shots! That bee looks so cool!

    ReplyDelete
  8. SinclairNovember 6, 2009 at 3:11 AM

    lovely photos. I always have a supply of echinacea on hand, and it is a happy flower to grow.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Maia TNovember 6, 2009 at 3:23 AM

    Lovely close-up photos and many useful information.
    Have a nice weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ruthie ReddenNovember 6, 2009 at 6:12 AM

    I never knew it was greek for hedgehog, how fascinating! love these flowers x

    ReplyDelete
  11. AudreyNovember 6, 2009 at 6:27 AM

    Wonderful pictures! I love cone flowers - well - any flower actually. :)
    Just have a problem remembering to water them.

    ReplyDelete
  12. SquirrelQueenNovember 6, 2009 at 10:36 PM

    Beautiful cone flowers an a fantastic capture of the bee. I enjoyed learning more about this plant, thanks for the info.
    Judy

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anitra CameronNovember 6, 2009 at 11:01 PM

    Such a beautiful and useful plant. And beautiful portraits of it!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Very VerdantNovember 9, 2009 at 8:02 AM

    Such a beautiful flower and with healing powers too.

    ReplyDelete
  15. RandiNovember 11, 2009 at 10:54 AM

    Beautiful shots a lovely flower! This one is a favorite "photo-model" in my garden.

    I want to thank you so much for your kind comments on my blog.

    ReplyDelete

Your comments make my day! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)