Echinacea, Coneflower

These big, bold daisies are from the prairies of central and eastern USA.

For a wild plant that has been largely unimproved by hybridising the flowers are remarkably large.

Like all members of the daisy family, each flower is a flower-head composed of hundreds of tiny individual flowers. With something as big as an echinacea flower-head, you can appreciate this more easily than with a lawn daisy.

The central knob of the flower is made up of lots of orange fertile flowers, while the outer rays are simply decoration to attract the bees and butterflies.

Flowering from July to September, Echinacea make a reliable and attractive centre-piece for a border.

Once they are completely dead, the centre turns into a durable and attractive seed-head which can be left for decorative effect and to feed the birds during the winter months.

If the name echinacea rings a bell, it may be because of the plant's promotion as a herbal medicine.

Native Americans used echinacea for centuries to cure everything from colds to cancers, and particularly for snake bites and stings.