Echinacea Profile

Echinacea is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Echinacea in the Compositae family. It is 50-150 cm tall, the whole plant has coarse hairs and the stem is erect. The leaf margin of Echinacea is serrated. The basal leaves are 90-shaped or triangular, the stem leaves are 90-lanceolate, and the base of the petiole slightly embraces the stem. Flower heads, solitary or mostly clustered at the top, the flowers are large, up to 10 cm in diameter: the center of the flower is convex and spherical, and the ball is a tubular flower, orange-yellow. The seeds of Echinacea are light brown with hard skin. Flowering in summer and autumn.

Echinacea can be used for medicinal purposes and contains a variety of active ingredients, which can stimulate the vitality of immune cells such as white blood cells in the human body, and has the effect of enhancing immunity. It can also be used to assist in the treatment of colds, coughs and upper respiratory tract infections. Echinacea has large flowers, gorgeous colors, and a beautiful appearance. It can be used as a material for flower borders, flower beds, slopes, and can also be used as potted plants in gardens, parks, and street greening. Echinacea can also be used as a material for cut flowers.

Echinacea morphological characteristics

Echinacea is a perennial herb. It is 50-150 cm high, the whole plant has coarse hairs and the stems are erect; the stems and leaves are densely bristly hairs, the leaves are ovate-lanceolate to broad-ovate, alternate, and the leaf margins are serrated. The basal leaves of Echinacea are 90-shaped or triangular, the stem leaves are 90-lanceolate, and the base of the petiole is slightly embracing the stem. Flower heads, solitary or mostly clustered at the top, large flowers, up to 10 cm in diameter. The central part of the flower of Echinacea is convex and spherical, with tubular flowers on the ball, orange-yellow, and tongue-like flowers on the periphery, purple, red, pink, etc. The seeds of Echinacea purpurea are light brown with hard skin. The flowering period of echinacea is mainly in summer and autumn.

Echinacea growth habit and growing environment and distribution

It was originally wild in the open woods and prairies of Lake Manitoba in Canada, the southeastern part of Saskatchewan and the central and southern United States. Echinacea likes the climatic conditions with sufficient sunlight and warm, the suitable temperature of 15-28℃, strong sex, cold and drought tolerant, and does not have strict requirements on the soil. It grows in deep, fertile, and humus-rich soil.
 

Echinacea efficacy and role

The medicinal value of echinacea

Echinacea can be used for medicinal purposes and contains a variety of active ingredients, which can stimulate the vitality of immune cells such as white blood cells in the human body, and has the effect of enhancing immunity. It can also be used to assist in the treatment of colds, coughs and upper respiratory tract infections. Chemical analysis shows that it contains at least three major types of active ingredients, and because of its ability to inhibit microorganisms and bacteria, it can also be used to treat skin diseases, candidiasis, and herpes simplex virus.

The ornamental value of Echinacea

Echinacea has large flowers, gorgeous colors, and a beautiful appearance. It has high ornamental value. It can be used as a material for flower borders, flower beds, and slopes. It can also be used as a potted plant in gardens, parks, and street greening. Echinacea can also be used as a material for cut flowers.

Echinacea cultivation

Nursery

You better choose well-drained, fertile land. Echinacea has certain resistance to diseases and insect pests, drought resistance and severe cold, but standing water can easily cause root rot. Apply organic fertilizers such as fully decomposed fertilizer and barnyard manure, each bed is 600 kg, and the soil layer is turned 30 cm deep. It’s a good choice to raise seedlings in a high bed, with a bed surface of 1.5 meters wide, 15 meters long, a ditch depth of 0.3 meters, and a width of 0.3 meters; the seedbed is leveled, planted with water, and a thin layer of fine soil is sprinkled on the bed surface.

Seeding of echinacea

The seeds of echinacea are treated at low temperatures for 12 weeks, and the germination is accelerated in warm water for 2-3 hours. The echinacea seeding amount per mu is 250 grams, and the wet sand is mixed well. Spread the echinacea seeds evenly on the seedbed and cover it with 0.5 cm thick sieved fine soil to keep the seedbed moist and cover it with a film. It can be sown in spring in April or in autumn from September to October to meet the temperature required for germination of Echinacea seeds in different seedling areas. Generally, the germination time of echinacea after sowing is 7-14 days. After sowing echinacea, depending on the weather, cover grass and water to keep the seedbed moist, otherwise, it will prolong the germination time and reduce the germination rate. To make the echinacea seedlings adapt to the environment after they are planted in the field and shorten the slow seedling period, the seedlings must be tempered before transplanting, generally 5-7 days. You’d better select echinacea seedlings that grow well, have no pests and diseases, complete roots, and more than 80% true leaves reaching 3-4 pieces for transplanting.