Composite Jfamil^. 



Eupatorium. MwpatoriuTn ageratoides. 



White Snake-root. 



Found in rich moist soil, along the edges of woods and shaded 

 roads, in August and September. 



The stalk (from 2 to 4 feet high) branches a little, and is leafy ; it 

 is large, strong, fine-fibred, and smooth. In color, pale green, tinged 

 with dull purple. 



The leaf is large, broadly oval, taper-pointed, and widest at the 

 base, with 3 marked ribs, a coarsely toothed margin, a thin texture, and 

 smooth surface. The leaves are set on short stems, and are placed op- 

 posite. each other on the stalk. The color is green. 



The minute flowers, and projecting pistils, are white ; and grouped 

 in small heads, enclosed in vase-shaped cups of green, on short stems. 

 The heads are arranged in close, rather flat-topped clusters on the top 

 of the stalk, and springing from the angles of the upper leaves. 



This plant comes into bloom in company with its next of kin, Joe 

 Pye and Boneset ; it thrives well under cultivation, and certainly is 

 worthy of a better name than " Snake-root," — which is, perhaps, the 

 reason it is so generally known by " Eupatorium," the generic name it 

 shares with so many others. It is much frequented by some small 

 creature who leaves a pale labyrinthine trail etched on the broad surface 

 of its leaves. 



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