Rudbeckias

A display of Rudbekia flowers. The Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist and physician Carolus Linnaeus, (who created the modern system of naming organisms with formalised binomial nomenclature), named a genus of flowers Rudbeckia in honour of Olof Rudbeck the Younger and his late father, Olof Rudbeck the Elder, a distinguished naturalist, philologist and Doctor of Medicine (he discovered the lymphatic system). Whilst modern studies suggest that the Rudbeckia strengthens the immune system and has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties, it is known that the indigenous Americans and the settlers of North America used the roots and dried leaves to make tea or poultices to treat a variety of illnesses, including colds, flu, infection, inflammation, earache, and snake bites., by SHEILA TERRY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY