The uses of Echinacea angustifolia and other Echinacea species by native Americans

Abstract

Echinacea was the most widely used medicinal plant of the Plains Indians. It was used for a variety of ailments, including toothache, coughs, colds, sore throats, snakebite, and as a painkiller. Lewis and Clark learned about it during their Expedition and in 1805 shipped the roots and seeds back to President Jefferson as one of their more important finds. A total of 19 tribes have been documented using Echinacea species, with Echinacea angustifolia being the best documented, primarily because little ethnobotany was reported from eastern and southern tribes in the USA. Echinacea is still being used by Native Americans across the Great Plains for a variety of treatments.