Appearance: This is a perennial herb which grows to about two or three feet in height. Echinacea has purple flowers, the florets seated around a high cone. The leaves are eliptical. The rhizome has an aromatic odor and is long and cylindrical.

Habitat: It is native to the American prairies, but is cultivated in Europe.

Action: This is a great antiseptic agent and antimicrobial. It helps free the body from infections of all sorts. It raises the immunity. It will often provoke elimination from the system troubled by the infection. For example, a urinary infection might show increased passage of urine, rather than frequent small, burning micturitions; a respiratory infection may turn into a streaming, loose nasal discharge, rather than the previous thick catarrh.

• It also has a reputation as an aphrodisiac.
• It has use in chronic and recurrent tonsillitis, recurrent skin infections, recurrent pyelonephritis, oral infections and vaginal discharges.
• It aids recovery of immunity after an infection, which has caused much debility

Method: It can be taken as a decoction of the root and rhizome, or topically as a lotion or douche (for local infections)

• The dose is generally 1-1.5 gram equivalents of the root three times a day