Purple Coneflower - Echinacea purpurea
Family: Asteraceae
Wild purple coneflower plants photographed at Winfield IL.

The genus name is from the Greek echino, meaning "hedgehog," an allusion to the spiny, brownish central disk. The flowers of Echinacea species are used to make an extremely popular herbal tea, purported to help strengthen the immune system; an extract is also available in tablet or liquid form in pharmacies and health food stores. Often cultivated, Purple Coneflower is a showy, easily grown garden plant. Native Americans used echinacea for many medicinal purposes. In Europe today, more than 200 pharmaceutical products are made from the extracts. Butterflies sip nectar from purple coneflowers all summer long.