BONESET.
Eupatorium perfoliatum L.
Fig. 19.—Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum L.).
Other common names.—Thoroughwort, crosswort, wood boneset, teasel, ague-weed, feverwort, thorough-stem or thorough-wax, vegetable antimony, sweating plant, Indian sage, wild sage, tearal, wild Isaac. (Fig. 19.)
Range and habitat.—Boneset delights in moist situations, and is common as a weed in clayey or sandy soil, in low, wet ground, and along streams, on the edges of swamps and in thickets from the New England States west to Nebraska and south to Texas and Florida.
Description.—One of the features which will aid in recognizing this plant is the peculiar arrangement of the leaves. These are opposite each other and joined together at the base around the stem, and therefore have the appearance of a single leaf with the stem passing through the center of it.
Boneset is a perennial herb of the aster family of plants (Asteraceæ), with stout, rough, hairy stems 1 to 5 feet high, from a horizontal, crooked root. The leaves are opposite, united at the base, lance shaped, tapering to a point, bluntly toothed, rough with prominent veins, wrinkled, dark green on the upper surface, downy and paler green on the lower surface. Both leaves together measure from 8 to 14 inches from point to point and 1 to 1½ inches wide. The flowers are white, tubular, ten to twenty or more united in dense heads, and the heads are borne in rather crowded flat-topped clusters, appearing from July to September.
Parts used.—The leaves and flowering tops are the parts used in medicine, and these should be collected when the plants are in flower, stripped from the stalk, and carefully dried. They lose about three-fourths of their weight in drying. The odor is faintly aromatic, the taste bitter and astringent.
As indicated by the common names “ague-weed” and “feverwort,” this is a popular remedy in fever and ague. It is used also in colds, dyspepsia, jaundice, and for toning up the system. In large doses it is an emetic and cathartic.
Prices.—Eupatorium or boneset leaves and tops bring from 2 to 8 cents per pound.