Echinacea angustifolia Anhang

[Eileen Nauman]

Echinacea Purpurea (Rudbecki pupurea) is a member of the Compositae Family. It is known as Purple Coneflower.

It is a perennial and can live in many different soils, altitudes and areas. Generally speaking, the plant is stiff, erect, coarse and forms large clumps of erect stems that may, over time, grow

4 - 5 feet tall. The leaves are oblong-shaped and 3 - 8 inches long. The heads are prominent. The flower petals droop and may range in color from a very pale lavender to dark purple.

There are coral, crimson and white varieties of Echinacea.

Often, these are used as an outer border along with other perennials such as Shasta daisies, sunflowers and Michaelmas daisies. Plant in full sun. They will take 'general' watering, but for best results, especially in very hot, desert climates, daily watering during the summer is a must. You can divide clumps of Echinacea in the Spring and Fall of the year.

Phytology: Used: dried root and the rhizome. There is oil and resin in the wood and bark and masses of inulin, inuloid, sucrose, vulose, betaine, two phytoesterols and fatty acids, oleic, cerotic, linolic and palmatic constituents.

Increases resistance to infections: boils/erysipelas (an acute inflammation of the skin and subcutaneous tissue + fever and constitutional disturbance), septicemia (blood poisoning), cancer,

syphilis and other blood impurities, and its action being antiseptic. It is useful as a strong alternative and aphrodisiac. The 'fresh' root has been found beneficial in diphtheria and putrid fevers.

Collecting: fresh root tincture made from August - Nov. (keeping in mind, this is desert region). Gathered the dry root and seed heads, tinctured 1:5, in 70% alcohol.

Stimulates the white blood cells during their attacking and digesting of bacteria, toxic proteins, viruses, herpes and vesicular stomatitis. Echinacea seems to speed up the replication of

lymphocytes, one our white blood cell warriors that protect us. Once the body makes pus, he says that with Echinacea present, resolution occurs more quickly.

Michael Moore: "...the quicker the junk (dead cell debris) is removed, the less scarring occurs and the better the flesh works after healing".

Limits the swelling and edema of hemorrhoids, bruises, sprains, stings of bees/wasps and mosquitoes.

Swelling of connective tissue, such as when there is cartilage injury: tennis elbow, skier's knee and jogger's ankle. He also reports that "regular use of small amounts of the tincture (1:5)

internally (30 drops 5x daily) helps to decrease corneal opacities and some of the interocular pressure of glaucoma".

Just looking at a clump of Echinacea gives you a sense of not only vitality, but robustness and power. Their stems are rigid and inflexible; and if you run your fingers along the rounded stem, you feel the many sharply pointed 'hairs' that surround it.

In fact, everything about Echinacea is 'prickly.' There is 'hair' on the leaves, too! And when you observe the head of the flower, it looks like a porcupine in full quill array - nothing to mess with! The fact that the head looks like a whole bunch of sharp, long, inflexible needles is no mistake. To lightly touch the head of a flower, you get a very good sense of the plant's strength and ability to protect itself.

The pale purple petals are always drooping and this reminds me of people who 'droop' through their day. When you've got the flu or a nasty, debilitating cold, you 'droop' too! It's as if with the flower petals naturally drooping that its speaking to us of times when we feel lethargic, run down, beat up or beat down, and how it can help us.

The more 'hair' on a plant, over the years I've learned, means the more it can protect me - either externally as a salve or internally either as a flower essence, herbal tincture or taken as a homeopathic remedy. Echinacea bristles with armament. The only 'soft' part of it is the purple petals which are somewhat flexible, and thin as paper - but even they are wimps either!

When a plant can live in so many altitudes and different weather regions and soil conditions, that tells me much about it's strength and flexibility to SURVIVE. This is one tough customer in the plant world, and the flower essences!

Boericke’s Materie Medica:

Eclectic school: a "corrector of blood dyscrasia." Acute auto-infection. Symptoms of blood poisoning, septic conditions generally. Diarrhea in typhoid. Gonorrhea. Boils. Erysipelas and foul ulcers. Gangrene.

Goiter with exophthalmic symptoms; full doses, also injecting 5 - 10 drops into thyroid gland. Tendency to malignancy in acute and sub acute disorders. Last stages of cancer to ease pain.

Venom infection. Cerebro-spinal meningitis. Puerperal infections. Tired feeling. Piles (hemorrhoids). Pustules.

Acts on vermiform appendix (appendicitis) and remember it promotes suppuration and a neglected appendicitis with pus formation would probably rupture sooner under its use.

Lymphatic inflammation; crushing injuries. Snake bites and bites and stings generally. Foul discharges with emaciation and great debility.

Head: Confused, depressed. Aches with a peculiar periodical flushing of the face, even to the neck; dizziness and profound prostration.

Nose: Foul-smelling discharge, membranous formations protruding. Post-nasal catarrh with ulceration and fetor. Nose feels stiffed up. Right nostril raw, bleeding.

Mouth: Canker; gums recede and bleed easily; corners of mouth and lips crack; tongue dry and swollen; sores; dirty brownish. Tongue, lips, and fauces tingle, with sense of fear about heart.

White coating of tongue, with red edges. Promotes the flow of saliva.

Throat: Tonsils purple or black, gray exudation ext. posterior nares and air-passages. Ulcerated sore throat.

Stomach: Sour belching and heartburn. Nausea; > lying down.

Abdomen: sensitive and tympanitic (hard, sounds like a drum, swollen)

Chest: Pain “As of a lump” in chest and under sternum. Pain in pectoral muscles.

Urine: Albuminous, scanty, frequent, and involuntary.

Female organs: Puerperal septicemia;. discharges suppressed; offensive, excoriating Leucorrhea.

Extremities: Aching in limbs and general lassitude.

Fever: Malarial fever.

Chill: Chilliness, with nausea. Cold flashes all over back.

Skin: Recurring boils. Carbuncles. Irritations from insect bites and poisonous plants. Lymphatics enlarged. Old tibial ulcers. Gangrene.

DD.: Cench. Both. Ars. Lach. Bapt. Rhus-t. Cist. Hepar. Calen.

>: lying down/at rest/bending double (pain in abdomen);

<: evening/from injury/operation/cold air/after eating/physical or mental exertion;

Echinacea angustifolia = the Western species, is the "blood tonic."

Echinacea Purpurea = the Eastern species = Black Sampson.

A local/external cleansing and anti-septic wash. (as tincture and mixed with water to dilute it).

Gangrene: Rhus-t. + Echi. + Ars + Pyrog.

Of benefit to weak or broken-down constitutions.

Mind: So nervous they could not study. Slow acting (speaking/replying/walking). Confused feeling in the brain. Confused, depressed or cross. Angry when corrected.

Hates to be contradicted. Feels depressed and out of sorts. Can't think or study. (Many of these symptoms were seen with the flower essence proving).

Ø – how to make it! by Eileen Nauman, DHM (UK)

I don't know about where you live, but today is a PERFECT day for digging up my 4 year old Echinacea plants from my Desert Planter. The day is a bright blue, blindingly bright sky with a

warm 55°, a slight breeze with yellow gold coin-like Cottonwood leaves sprinkling down like snow from our many trees as I dig.

When I make a tincture, I go through a process--may not be the same for other people, but what I do is dig up the roots, shake loose the dirt. And then, I gathered about 1/4 pound of roots and took them into my kitchen and washed them vigorously under warm tap water.

I then cut off the leaves and stem, so that only the roots are left.

I give them another thorough washing. Remember, these have been grown with compost (horse manure) and if ANY of that is left on the root, it can cause you serious, acute health problems.

I then take a scrub brush that I have dipped into a plastic pail that contains 8 Ltr. of water and 1/4 teaspoon of bleach in it.

I prepare a large bowl with water (at least 1 liter) and add 1/4 teaspoon of bleach to it. I vigorously scrub these roots (even inch of them!) with the water/bleach.

This gets rid of any E-coli that is in the compost that may have clung to the roots. It is important to do this for health and safety's sake. DRAIN THIS OFF.

I then put them in a one gallon steel pot with 1/8 teaspoon of bleach added. For health reasons, bleach must be used because it will kill any bacteria or virus left on the roots.

Bring it to a boil for 20 minutes. Why? Because between the boiling hot water and bleach NOTHING bacterial or virus-like, survives.

I then pour the water and roots through a colander. DRAIN OFF ALL WATER. Wash the hot, steamy roots off with a quick rinse of tepid water from your faucet. DO NOT USE THIS WATER

AS PART OF THE TINCTURE!! THROW IT AWAY.

Then, I take out my heavy duty blender and add half a cup of fresh water to it.

I strain out the roots (as many that will fit into my blender) and turn it on to "chop" speed. I macerate them until they look "chunky" but broken down and their roots cut open. The roots must be

open to "bleed off" the internal contents which is where the goodies are at. I quickly strain them from the water used in the blender. I throw the blender water away. Keep only the chopped roots.

Taking my 8 ounce amber bottles, I put an ounce of roots into it and top it off with a fruit brandy. If you are using something smaller--like a one ounce eye dropper bottle, I would fill the bottle 1/3rd with the roots and 2/3rds with brandy.

These bottles are then labeled and dated and put in the pantry where it is cool, dry and dark to "stew" for a month while the alcohol does its work to leach out the chemical contents from the roots.

I will then, at the 30 day mark, will take them out, sift out the contents and keep the brandy tincture. Voila! Echinacea tincture for us!

Anyone else make their tincture a different way, please post--it's a fun way to learn of different techniques for different plants and herbal tinctures.

Recipe from Mary Conley:

I dig up part of my roots, leaving some of the root system in the hopes that the plant will regenerate next year. I have this terrible problem of digging things up - just hate to do it, so I leave some,

and put on a mixture of rescue remedy to each plant.

Then I too use my Cusinart® for breaking up many things from the garden, except the rocks my lab carries around. I take a bit of alcohol and place it in the Cusinart® and splash it around a bit,

then add the bits of root. Then I place in large 2 gallon jars and stir a bit, sending some intention in along with it too. These I place on a back shelf of my kitchen because that's where most of the love in my house accumulates. I will turn the jars each day, giving them a pat as I go by. At the end of 4 to 5 weeks, I will strain them out.

Now I will never need a tincture press because we have our "Big Craig." He is huge and wonderful like a wooly bear, with large arms, but who can handle the most tender of herbs.

He'll come in and squeeze the remainder of herb mixture through cheesecloth that I strain it through. When he's done we return the dried herb to the garden for tilling under next spring.

He also gets a lick or two of the mixture, but at the end of the day he leaves with a big smile on his face - doesn't get sick much either. He's not for loan, but everybody should have a "Big Craig."

My acupuncturist partner tells me she has most of her clients "hooked" on peach brandy tinctures, they all love that Menstrum so much, we ran out of Echinacea tincture at my office last week. I'm going to try Cherry Brandy next.

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