36 



AMERICAN MEDICINAL LEAVES AND HERBS. 



BONESET. 



Eupatorium -perfoliatum L. 



Pharmacopoeial name. — Eupatorium. 

 Synonym.— Eupatorium connatum Michx. 



Other common names. — Thoroughwort, thorou<jh-stem, thoroughwax, wood boneset, 

 teasel, agueweed, feverwort, sweating plant, crosswort, vegetable antimony, Indian 



sage, \¥ild sage, tearal, wild 

 Isaac. 



Habitat and range. — 

 Boneset is a common weed 

 in low, wet ground, along 

 streams, and on the edges 

 of swamps and in thickets 

 from Canada to Florida and 

 west to Texas and Ne- 

 braska. 



Description. — This plant 

 is easily recognized by the 

 peculiar arrangement of the 

 leaves, which are opposite 

 to each other, but joined 

 together at the base, which 

 makes it appear as though 

 they were one, wdth the 

 stem passing through the 

 center. It is" a perennial 

 plant belonging to the aster 

 family (Asteracese), and is 

 erect, growing rather tall, 

 from 1 to 5 feet in height. 

 The stout stems are rough 

 hairy, and the leaves, united 

 at the base, are rough, very 

 prominently veined, wrin- 

 kled, dark green above, 

 lighter green and downy beneath, lance shaped, tapering to a point, and with bluntly 

 toothed margins. The crowded, flat-topped clusters of flowers are produced from 

 about July to September and consist of numerous white tubular flowers united in 

 dense heads. (Fig. 28.) 



Collection, prices, and iises. — The leaves and flowering tops, official in the United 

 States Pharmacopa>ia, are collected when the plants are in flower, stri])ped from the 

 stalk, and carefully dried. They lose considerable of their weight in drying. The 

 price per pound for boneset is about 2 cents. 



Boneset leaves and tops have a bitter, astringent taste and a slightly aromatic odor. 

 They form an old and popular remedy in the treatment of fever and ague, as implied 

 by some of the common names given to the j)lant. Boneset is also emploj-ed in 

 colds, dyspepsia, jaundice, and as a tonic. In large doses it acts as an emetic and 

 cathartic. 

 219 



Fig. 28.— Boneset {Eupatorium perfoliatum), leaves and flowers. 



