Eupatorium perfoliatum-Boneset

Description

This is one of my favorite natives. The appearance of the plant is so intriguing; the stem seems to shoot right up through multiple whorls of leaves, like some avant garde sculpture. The whorls of opposite leaves have a wonderful texture to them, they look like they are really thick, but it’s just the pubescence (hair) of the leaves that makes this optical illusion of sorts. Terminal flower heads are a grayish-white color; even though we can’t smell them the pollinators evidently can, as the flowers attract a wonderful array of uncommon pollinators. Old timey wisdom told us that this plant was helpful in setting bones; leaves were placed in splints and casts to help the healing process. (Call me a pessimist, but it probably didn’t work.) The leaves are still used to make a tea, which is said to be beneficial for treating colds, flus, and coughs. In the wild this plant is almost always associated with wetlands, in sun to part shade, but in cultivation, it does well in our upland gardens.

2 gallon size, $16 each (Seed grown, MOFGA certified organic.)