YELLOW CONE FLOWER - Rudbeckia laciniata
The Echinacea analog that not only stimulates the immune system, but moves out waste even better!
In the mountains of the Western United States, growing near marshes, stream banks and other moist areas is a remarkable and abundant immune stimulating plant known as Yellow Cone Flower or Rudbeckia laciniata.
There are probably a few species of Rudbeckia that work medicinally in the same way, but here I am writing about Yellow Cone Flower or Cut-Leaf Cone Flower or Rudbeckia laciniata. One other name to know is the Mexican Traditional name of Dormilon.
The Eclectic physicians, especially in The Western United States - those frontier doctor’s used Yellow Cone Flower as a total replacement for Echinacea angustifolia. Like Echinacea, Yellow Cone Flower has been used to treat a wide variety of infectious states, like bacterial, viral, and amoebic infections. It stimulates the immune system to make more white blood cells, which is perfect when fighting an acute infection. However, Yellow Cone Flower does something that Echinacea does not do - and that is Yellow Cone Flower stimulates secretions, respiration, and the skin and kidneys, thereby helping to excrete the very waste products its immunostimulus helps create. Echinacea does not do this!
I like to make a whole fresh plant extract, using roots, leaf, stem, and the beautiful yellow flowers! I do a 1:2 ratio, using 70% Organic Cane Alcohol as my menstrum.
There is a distinct diuretic action when taking this extract, but that is perfect, since this will help you eliminate more waste from your infectious event!
Since 1900, when John Uri Lloyd wrote about its amazing qualities in fighting infections, to current European research for kidney infections and sexually transmitted diseases, it still remains little known and hardly used by Western Herbalists.
Unlike Echinacea angustifolia which is always threatened from being over harvested in the wild, Yellow Cone Flower is abundant in the Western United States, is easily grown from seeds, and is not currently threatened - at least not Rudbeckia laciniata.
Although, Yellow Cone Flower can work fine by itself, I often combine with other herbal extracts, like Red Root, Yerba Mansa, Osha, Fresh Ginger Root, Turmeric and others. It just depends on what kind of infection I am working to eliminate.
Using all individual fresh plant extracts, a favorite formula I like to create, sort of a general immune system stimulant - waste removal - circulation enhancer - get feeling better formula is:
Yellow Cone Flower (whole plant extract) - 50%
* Use Rudbeckia laciniata
Red Root (Fresh Root extract) - 25%
* Use Ceanothus spp. I use Red Root to increase lymphatic flow. This is always extremely important to do when fighting infections and moving waste from the infection out of the body.
Ginger Root ( Fresh Root extract) - 25%
* Use any fresh Ginger Root - (Organic). Ginger is an amazing circulation improving medicine plant and when infected with either a bacterial or viral situation, creating better circulation is important. Viruses and bacteria create a stagnancy and increasing movement in the body is vitally important. The remedy for stagnancy is movement and fresh Ginger Root is a mover!
Mix all individual extracts together, and use 20 to 50 drops, up to 4 to 5 times a day, when coming down with an infection, either viral or bacterial.
CONTRAINDICATIONS: I would not use during pregnancy.