''Echinacea'' is a genus of

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

flowering plants in the

daisy family The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

. It has ten species, which are commonly called coneflowers. They are found only in eastern and central

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, where they grow in moist to dry prairies and open wooded areas. They have large, showy

heads A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may no ...

of composite flowers, blooming in summer. The generic name is derived from the Greek word ('), meaning "

sea urchin Sea urchins () are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard shells (tests) of ...

", due to the spiny central disk. These flowering plants and their parts have different uses. Some species are cultivated in gardens for their showy flowers. Two of the species, '' E. tennesseensis'' and '' E. laevigata'', are listed in the United States as

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

. ''

Echinacea purpurea ''Echinacea purpurea'', the eastern purple coneflower, purple coneflower, hedgehog coneflower, or echinacea, is a North American species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as w ...

'' is used in traditional medicine. Although commonly sold as a

dietary supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...

, there is insufficient

scientific evidence Scientific evidence is evidence that serves to either support or counter a scientific theory or hypothesis, although scientists also use evidence in other ways, such as when applying theories to practical problems. "Discussions about empirical ev ...

that ''Echinacea'' products are effective or safe for improving health or treating any disease.

Description

''Echinacea'' species are

, drought-tolerant perennial plants growing up to 140 cm or 4 feet, in height. They grow from taproots, except '' E. purpurea'', which grows from a short

caudex A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...

with fibrous roots. They have erect stems that in most species are unbranched. Both the

basal Basal or basilar is a term meaning ''base'', ''bottom'', or ''minimum''. Science * Basal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location for features associated with the base of an organism or structure * Basal (medicine), a minimal level that is nec ...

and cauline (stem) leaves are arranged alternately. The leaves are normally hairy with a rough texture, having

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