Echinacea effective in fighting off the common cold

Definitions of Echinacea

Little did I realize just how versatile echinacea can be.

I subscribe to the Merriam-Webster Word of the Day, and last Tuesday the featured word was “vulnerary.” That was a new one to me (which, of course, is why I subscribe to WOTD).

“Vulnerary” comes from the Latin “Vulnus,” which means wound. And while the word once meant, “causing a wound,” it eventually came to refer to something “used for or useful in healing wounds.”

But what really caught my eye was this example of the word used in a sentence: “Native Americans prized the herb echinacea for its vulnerary properties, using it to treat burns and snakebite as well as arrow wounds.”

Arrow wounds! Many people find echinacea effective in fighting off the common cold and reducing cold symptoms. Now you can add “treatment for arrow wounds” to the list of benefits.

That information might come in handy for any HSI members who live next door to an archery range.