Eupatorium cannabinum

Eupatorium cannabinum
IJmuiden, Netherlands
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Eupatorium
Species:	E. cannabinum
Binomial name
Eupatorium cannabinum L.
Synonyms [1]
Synonymy Chrone heterophyllaDulac Cunigunda vulgarisBubani Eupatorium allaisiiSennen Eupatorium argenteumWallich Eupatorium birmanicumDC. Eupatorium cannabis-foliumGilib. Eupatorium caucasicumSteven Eupatorium corsicumReq. ex Loisel. Eupatorium diclineEdgew. Eupatorium finlaysonianumWallich ex DC. Eupatorium heterophyllumDC. Eupatorium hyrcanicumSteven Eupatorium lambertianumWallich Eupatorium lemassoniiBiau Eupatorium lindleyanumF.Muell. 1865 not DC. 1836 Eupatorium longicauleWallich ex DC. Eupatorium maireiH.Lév. Eupatorium ponticumGeorgi Eupatorium punduanumWallichex DC. Eupatorium simonsiiC.B.Clarke Eupatorium soleiroliiLoisel. Eupatorium suaveolensWallich Eupatorium trifidumVahl Eupatorium trifoliatumhort. dorp. ex Stev. Eupatorium variifoliumBartl. Eupatorium viscosumWallich Mikania longicaulisWallich

Eupatorium cannabinum, commonly known as hemp-agrimony, ^{[2] [3]} is a herbaceous plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a robust perennial native to Europe, Northwestern Africa, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, the Caucasus and Central Asia, ^{[4] [5] [6]} and grows in damp to wet habitats (also rarely on dry soils), usually in lowlands but known up to 410 m altitude in Britain. ^{[2] [7]} It is cultivated as an ornamental plant and occasionally found as a garden escape in scattered locations in China, ^[8] the United States and Canada. ^{[9] [10]} It is extremely attractive to butterflies, much like buddleia. ^[11]

If the genus Eupatorium is defined in a restricted sense (about 42 species), E. cannabinum is the only species of that genus native to Europe, with the remainder in Asia or North America. ^[12]

Description

Eupatorium cannabinum is a perennial herb up to 1.75 metres (5.7 feet) tall forming extensive clumps, with the reddish stems covered in small hairs. ^[7] The leaves are opposite, deeply 3-lobed, occasionally 5-lobed, and have serrated margins. ^{[3] [7]} It is dioecious, with racemes of mauve flower heads which are pollinated by insects from July to early September. The flowers are visited by many types of insects, and have a generalised pollination syndrome. ^[13] The flower heads are composed of dense clusters of 2–5 mm long florets of fluffy appearance, and can be pink or purple, or rarely whitish. ^[7] The fruit is an achene about 2 or 3 mm long, borne by a pappus with hairs 3 to 5 mm long, which is distributed by the wind. The plant over-winters as a hemicryptophyte. ^[12]

Taxonomy

Two subspecies are accepted by some authorities, ^[14] but are not considered distinct by the Plants of the World Online database: ^[4]

• Eupatorium cannabinum L. subsp. cannabinum - most of species range
• Eupatorium cannabinum L. subsp. corsicum(Req. ex Loisel.) P.Fourn. - Corsica, Sardinia, Basilicata, Apulia

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Toxicity

Eupatorium cannabinum contains tumorigenic pyrrolizidine alkaloids. ^[15] The alkaloids may be present in the plant material as their N-oxides. ^[16]

Folk medicine

E. cannabinum, known locally by the Nepali names of Banmara and Kalijhar, is used as a styptic in the folk medicine of the Indian state of Sikkim in the Eastern Himalayas (to which the plant is not native, but an introduction). ^{[17] [4]}

The leaves and tender stems are crushed fresh and the juice is applied to cuts and bruises. Sometimes, when the wound is large, the squeezed remains of the plant are placed over the wound in the form of a poultice. The bleeding stops immediately and the wound is protected from infection. ^[17]

References

1. The Plant List, Eupatorium cannabinum L.
2. "Hemp-agrimony Eupatorium cannabinum L." PlantAtlas. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
3. Streeter, David (2010). Flower Guide. London: Collins. p. 516. ISBN   978-0-00-718389-0.
4. "Eupatorium cannabinum L." Plants of the World Online. 2018-08-08. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
5. "Eupatorium cannabinum[Canapa acquatica]". Schede di botanica (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-08-15.
6. "Botanica. The Illustrated AZ of over 10000 garden plants and how to cultivate them", p 359. Könemann, 2004. ISBN   3-8331-1253-0
7. Blamey, Marjorie; Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). The Illustrated Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. London: Hodder & Stoughton. p. 394. ISBN   0-340-40170-2.
8. Flora of China, Eupatorium cannabinum Linnaeus, 1753. 大麻叶泽兰 da ma ye ze lan
9. "Eupatorium cannabinum". Flora of North America.
10. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
11. Wildlife Trusts - Hemp Agrimony
12. Schmidt, Gregory J.; Schilling, Edward E. (2000). "Phylogeny and biogeography of Eupatorium (Asteraceae: Eupatorieae) based on nuclear ITS sequence data". Am. J. Bot. 87 (5): 716–726. doi: 10.2307/2656858 . JSTOR   2656858. PMID   10811796.
13. Van Der Kooi, C. J.; Pen, I.; Staal, M.; Stavenga, D. G.; Elzenga, J. T. M. (2016). "Competition for pollinators and intra-communal spectral dissimilarity of flowers". Plant Biology. 18 (1): 56–62. doi:10.1111/plb.12328. PMID   25754608.
14. "Eupatorium cannabinum". Euro+Med Plantbase. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
15. Fu, P.P.; Yang, Y.-C.; Xia, Q.; Chou, M.W.; Cui, Y.Y.; Lin, G. (2020). "Pyrrolizidine alkaloids – tumorigenic components in Chinese herbal medicines and dietary supplements". Journal of Food and Drug Analysis. 10 (4): 8. doi: 10.38212/2224-6614.2743 .
16. Woerdenbag, H. J. (October 1986). "Eupatorium cannabinum L.". Pharmaceutisch Weekblad Scientific Edition. 8 (5): 245–251. doi:10.1007/bf01960068. ISSN   0167-6555. PMID   3537953. S2CID   26403365.
17. Rai, Lalitkumar and Sharma, Eklabyar Medicinal Plants of the Sikkim Himalaya: Status, Uses and Potential, pub. Govind Ballabh Pant Inst. Bishen Singh & Mahendra Pal Singh 1994 page 39.

External links

Media related to Eupatorium cannabinum at Wikimedia Commons