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Echinacea purpurea

Echinacea purpurea

6.7
A herbal supplement made from the purple coneflower used to help prevent colds
  • noun
  • /ˌɛkɪˈneɪʃə pərˈpjʊəriə/
translation icon : preparado de equinácea púrpura
  • Some studies suggest that Echinacea purpurea may support the immune system, but results are mixed.

Examples

  • Many people take Echinacea purpurea to help prevent colds during the winter months.

  • The health store sells Echinacea purpurea in both capsule and liquid forms.

  • Many people take Echinacea purpurea to boost their immune systems.

  • Is Echinacea purpurea effective against colds?

  • Many people take Echinacea purpurea capsules during winter to help prevent colds.

  • She prepared an herbal tea using Echinacea purpurea to boost her immune system.

  • Some studies suggest that Echinacea purpurea may reduce the duration of cold symptoms.

Synonyms

Echinacea
vsEchinacea purpurea
  • Specialized
7 8.2

A tall garden herb with purple cone-shaped flowers often used to help the immune system

is a prepared herbal supplement made from those plants for treating colds
genus Echinacea
vsEchinacea purpurea
  • Specialized
6.6

A group of rough, long-lived plants from North America with daisy-like flowers used in medicine

is the finished herbal product derived from those plants rather than the living group

Surface Forms

Morphology

Echinacea + purpurea

This is a scientific binomial combining the genus name 'Echinacea' with the species epithet 'purpurea' (literally ‘purple’), so the phrase straightforwardly means the purple variety of the Echinacea plant — a medicinal coneflower. The composition follows standard biological naming conventions (genus + descriptive epithet), so a learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Echinacea purpurea as a medicine is named after the plant because people make teas, drops, and capsules from the purple coneflower, so the name tells you the remedy comes from that flower.