]oe Pye Weed (Eupatorium maculatum) 



David M. Walsten 



miniature pitchforks. These tips (or awns) have reverse- 

 pointed barbs which cause them to cling to clothing in 

 great numbers. 



$? Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum) 

 Composite Family (Compositae) 



This unusual common name is derived from Joe Pye, an 

 Indian medicineman of New England, who treated 

 typhus fever with a decoction made from this plant. It is 

 one of the tallest nonwoody plants in the forest, and is 

 rather easily identified by the fact that the leaves are 

 borne in circles (or whorls) of three or more. A close 

 relative, Eupatorium maculatum, is frequent in 

 calcareous marshes. 



$? White Lettuce (Prenanthes alba) 

 Composite Family (Compositae) 



This plant is also known as rattlesnake root, lion's foot, and 

 gall-of-the-earth. It is noted for the extreme variability of its 

 foliage. The plant is related to lettuce and possesses milky 

 juice. It is a woodland species. The long hairs on the seedlike 

 fruit are known as the pappus (compare the blow-away seed- 

 head of the dandelion), and in this species are a deep reddish- 

 brown. 



White Lettuce (Prenanthes alba) 



Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) 



$? Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) 

 Composite Family (Compositae) 



This plant has a preference for moist open ground. In low 

 pastures it is avoided by livestock because of its bitter taste, 

 and in such habitats it associates with the blue vervain (Ver- 

 bena hastata). In spite of its name, the sneezeweed is not a 

 prime cause of hayfever (neither is goldenrod, in spite of its 

 reputation) . The bulk of late-summer and autumn pollinosis is 

 rather caused by inconspicuously flowering plants, especially 

 ragweeds. 



& Iron weed (Vemonia missurica) 

 Composite Family (Compositae) 



This is a very tough plant (perhaps thus giving the name iron- 

 weed) which is also rejected by grazing livestock, and may 

 often associate with sneezeweed and blue vervain in the 

 above-mentioned pastures. Its beautiful flower cluster rivals 

 the blazing star and gay feather in color, but differs in the shape 

 of the cluster, which is typically flat-topped rather than 

 spikelike. 



Ironweed (Vernonia missurica) 



