Also known as coneflower and snakeroot, Echinacea is a North American
perennial herb that is valued as a colorful and stately garden
ornamental as well as for its antioxidant compounds in the leaf and
root. While the root is most often tinctured, the aerial parts of the
plant are typically taken as tea.
Europeans were introduced to the plant in the mid-19th century by
various Native American peoples, who used the herb for centuries for
various ailments. Although the American Medical Association declared the
medicinal use of Echinacea as quackery in 1910, it became one of the
most popular herbals in Europe and North American in the 1920s and
remains one of the most popular today.
