Echinacea pallida

Taxobox


image_caption = "Echinacea pallida" with butterfly
name = "Echinacea pallida"
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Asterales
familia = Asteraceae
tribus = Heliantheae
genus = "Echinacea"
species = "E. pallida"
binomial = "Echinacea pallida"
binomial_authority =
synonyms ="Rudbeckia pallida" Nutt. "Brouneria pallida" Britton

"Echinacea pallida" (Nutt.), the Pale Purple Cone-flower, is a herbaceous perennial plant growing from a taproot in the family Asteraceae. Plants are sometimes grown in gardens and used for medicinal purposes. It is native from south central region of the United Sates.

Description

Plants are similar to "Echinacea angustifolia", but often grow taller, ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 feet (45 to 75 cm) tall but sometimes 3 feet (90 cm) or more high. Plants normally grow with one unbranched stem in the wild but often growing into multi-stemmed clumps when grown in gardens. The deep taproot is spindle shaped, wider in the center and narrowing at the ends. Stems are green in color or mottled with purple and green. The leaves are elongated lanceolate or linear-lanceolate in shape with three veins, and the margins are entire. Flower head rays narrow, linear, elongated, drooping, from 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.6 cm) long. The flower heads are from 0.75 to 3 inches (2 to 7.6 cm) wide with pale rose-purple or nearly white colored petals, the flowers have white pollen. The fruits are called cypselae and are tan or bi-colored, with angled edges.

Native from dry soils in prairies in the USA, from the states of Illinois to Michigan, Alabama and Texas. "Echinacea pallida" is found blooming from May into July. The states of Tennessee and Wisconsin list this species as threatened, mostly due to habitat loss and over-collection of roots. The roots are collected to be made into herbal medicine but the use of Echinacea as a medical plant has not been demonstrated to have any positive health effects. [ [http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/353/4/341 NEJM - An Evaluation of Echinacea angustifolia in Experimental Rhinovirus Infections ] ] [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12218779&dopt=Abstract Oral administration of freshly expressed juice of ... [J Immunother (1997). 2002 Sep-Oct - PubMed Result ] ] [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12484708&dopt=Abstract Treatment of the common cold with unrefined echina... [Ann Intern Med. 2002 - PubMed Result ] ] [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15197051&dopt=Abstract Echinacea purpurea therapy for the treatment of th... [Arch Intern Med. 2004 - PubMed Result ] ] [ [http://nccam.nih.gov/health/echinacea/#science Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea, Echinacea angustifolia, Echinacea pallida) [NCCAM Herbs at a Glance ] ] [ [http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/521318_10 Log In Problems ] ]

References

*Britton, N., & Brown, A. (1913). An illustrated flora of the Northern United States, Canada from Newfoundland to the parallel of the southern boundary of Virginia, and from the Atlantic Ocean westward to the 102nd meridian. [S.l.] : Scribner. ISBN 0-486-22644-1