The purple coneflower, which is used in herbal medicine to combat colds and the flu, on Thursday was approved for a new use by the Cook County Board–as the county’s official flower.
The daisy-like plant, found in Illinois prairies and a member of the genus Echinacea, beat out the blue star, black-eyed Susan and the lanceleaf coreopsis as the county’s floral representative.
The Chicago Botanic Garden and the County Forest Preserve District Board had selected the flower as their top choice six months after the two groups set out to name an official plant, said Caryn Stancik, special assistant to Cook County Board President John Stroger.
Several purple coneflower plants were displayed before the commissioners at Thursday’s meeting.
Able to grow 2 to 3 feet tall, the plants are native only to North America and found mostly in prairies and open woodlands. Plains Indians discovered the medicinal value of the purple coneflower roots, using them as a remedy for coughs, toothaches, colds and snakebites.
The plant continues to be used today to make echinacea, an herbal medicine.
Cook County Commissioner Roberto Maldonado, who takes echinacea vitamins twice a day, said he was elated to learn the purple coneflower would be a county symbol.
Maldonado said he was told about the plant by an East Coast friend when he had the flu three months ago.
“When you have the flu, you’ll try anything,” he said. Impressed by claims the supplements can strengthen the immune system, the commissioner continued his dosage of echinacea. “I’m becomming a health freak,” Maldonado said.
With the popularity of the herbal remedy, many people have tried to cash in and have stolen the plants from public lands.
There have been several thefts of the purple coneflower in various parts of the country. Mick Erickson, project manager of the Chase Lake Prairie Project in North Dakota, said there was a rash of incidents last year in which the plants were uprooted.
But vast amounts of purple coneflowers have not been taken in Illinois, Stancik said.
To encourage the growth of the flower in the county, Ace Hardware will help distribute seed packets at this weekend’s Chicago Flower and Garden Show. The packets also will be handed out at Brookfield Zoo, the Chicago Botanic Garden and forest preserve nature centers.
Officials did not know if Cook County was the first county in the state or even the country to have an official flower.
But by Thursday’s board vote, the county joined Illinois and Chicago in the flower power game. The city’s official flower is the chrysanthemum and the state’s is the violet.
