Rosita Larsson Art Collections

Coneflowers ...........Echinacea purpurea

CONEFLOWERS ...........Echinacea purpurea In Swedish called Stormhatt Echinacea purpurea is a member of the daisy family (Compositae) or Asteraceae The generic name comes from the Greek word for hedgehog (echinos) inspired by the spiky projections in the centre of its flower head in the seed stage. The specific epithet purpurea refers to the purple colour of the flowers. Echinacea purpurea was previously placed in the genus Rudbeckia, so appears in historical literature under the synonym Rudbeckia purpurea. Members of the genus Rudbeckia always have yellow or orange ray-florets (the outer parts of the flower head) whereas the ray-florets of Echinacea flowers are normally pink, purple or white. An exception is paradoxa variety paradoxa, which has yellow ray-florets. Selected hybrid lines of this species have bred to have yellow to orange-red flowers. ,Echinacea purpurea (eastern purple coneflower or purple coneflower) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Echinacea of the family Asteraceae. Its cone-shaped flowering heads are usually, but not always, purple in the wild. It is native to eastern North America and present to some extent in the wild in much of the eastern, southeastern and midwest United Statesstudy shows purpurea has antidepressant properties in white rats as it increased the stimulating action of L-DOPA.] Echinacea is believed by many people to stimulate the immune system.An old medicalplant And oh so Beautiful!!!