Echinacea (Purple Coneflower) - A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Echinacea, also known as Purple Coneflower or the Sampson root, is a true American native and one of the hardiest perennials available. The plant was used medicinally by the Native Americans of the Great Plains more than any other herb. It was the Native Americans that discovered that the roots contained valuable medicinal attributes. These cultures used the plant to treat snakebite and the bites of poisonous insects. The juice was used to bathe burns and was added to the waters sprinkled over coals during the traditional purification ceremonies known as "sweats". The plant was first identified and described during the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1904-1806. It grew in great profusion in the prairie lands of
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