[MPWG] Echinacea, or not?

[Stiki Niki]

Well, here it goes again.....
I used to work under Mark Blumenthal at ABC, and no doubt he will put out a 
great debunker.   I just wish that plant conservationists could think of a 
clever way to take this opportunity to get Echinacea out of children's gummy 
bear vitamins and other ridiculous preventative concoctions.
Its interesting how fascinated humans seem to be with this particular plant, 
its obviously a notable ally.  I agree with others on this list and use it 
mostly on topical infections, and/or respiratory infections that are kind of 
"stuck" in combination with other exciting herbs that never make the news.  
I do know for sure that the fresh 4 year old root preparation I made from a 
midwife's herb garden is about 10X stronger than any commercially available 
preparations.  In fact, if anyone needs a good commercial source, my friend 
has just started growing echinacea and lavender commercially at their 
pesticide free may soon be "certified Organic" herb farm in Blanco Texas.

Nicole Telkes
Practicing Herbalist now roaming around on a botanical adventure in the 
Pacific Northwest
Excuse me while I go back into the forests....