Eupatorium perfoliatum

Boneset, American Boneset, Thoroughwort, Agueweed, Feverwort, Sweating-plant, Indian Sage, Teasel, Vegetable Antimony

Boneset or Thoroughwort is a hardy perennial which is found throughout the Eastern half of North America in sunny, low, wet roadsides and fields. The plant grows three to four feet in height with multiple, hairy stems branched only near the top. These terminate in bright white clusters, up to eight inches across, of ten to twenty aromatic florets. Boneset’s leaves are coarse, pointed, and arranged in pairs (opposite arrangement) with the bases joined so that the stem appears to grow through them (perfoliate). It is not fussy about its soil, and spreads by rhizomes as well as by its wind-borne seeds. There are many internet references to Boneset’s use as a folk remedy, “probably no plant in American domestic practice having more extensive and frequent use” (Botanical.com). Boneset’s flat-topped flowers in August/September attract a wide range of pollinators (bees, moths, butterflies, wasps, beetles) like its famous cousin, Joe-Pye weed, and the leaves are larval food for various Lepidoptera.