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

15 comments:

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

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

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

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  4. 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

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  5. 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!

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  6. Great macro shots! That bee looks so cool!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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  13. Such a beautiful flower and with healing powers too.

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  14. 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.

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