Echinacea Mini Original

This wildflower’s well-known name, Echinacea, comes from the Greek word echinos, meaning hedgehog or sea-urchin, in reference to the spiny center cone found on most flowers in the genus. The perennial rhizomous plant can get 11 to nearly 60 inches tall. Flowers are rayed and purple, with the center disc florets orange, drawing all kinds of pollinators. Other types of coneflower are pictured here as well, often growing together in open prairie grasslands. These are a high-value plant to pollinators for nectar and pollen.

You’ve likely partnered with this flower already to fight a cold virus. It is known to support immune function, and was used for a variety of ailments by Indigenous people for hundreds of years. European settlers reportedly used it to treat then common outbreaks of disease like Scarlet Fever, Diphtheria, and Syphilis. Hence, they’re symbolic of strength and healing.

Coneflower is accompanied by bumblebee, highlighting the important partnership between prairie plants and pollinators.

Original mixed media on raw stretched canvas with maple float frame.