a North American plant of the daisy family, whose flowers have a raised cone-like centre which appears to consist of soft spines. It is used in herbal medicine, largely for its antibiotic and wound-healing properties.
Genus Echinacea, family Compositae: several species
Origin:
modern Latin, from Greek ekhinos 'hedgehog'
echinacea in other Oxford dictionaries
Definition of echinacea in the US English dictionary
