Eupatorium perfoliatum

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Eupatorium perfoliatum
Eupatorium perfoliatum 001.JPG
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Eupatorium
Species:
E. perfoliatum
Binomial name
Eupatorium perfoliatum
L.
Eupatorium perfoliatum range map.jpg
Synonyms [2]
Synonymy
  • Cunigunda perfoliata(L.) Lunell
  • Uncasia perfoliata(L.) Greene
  • Eupatorium chapmaniiSmall
  • Eupatorium connatumMichaux
  • Eupatorium salviifoliumSims
  • Eupatorium truncatumMuhl. ex Willd.
  • Eupatorium × truncatumMuhl. ex Willd.
  • Eupatorium cuneatumEngelm. ex Torr. & A.Gray
  • Uncasia cuneata(Engelm. ex Torr. & A.Gray) Greene
  • Uncasia truncata(Mühlenb. ex Willd.) Greene

Eupatorium perfoliatum, known as common boneset or just boneset, is a North American perennial plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a common native to the Eastern United States and Canada, widespread from Nova Scotia to Florida, west as far as Texas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Manitoba. [3] [4] It is also called agueweed, feverwort, or sweating-plant. In herbal medicine, the plant is a diaphoretic, or an agent to cause sweating. It was introduced to American colonists by natives who used the plant for breaking fevers by means of heavy sweating, and commonly used to treat fever by the African-American population of the southern United States. The name "boneset" comes from the use of the plant to treat dengue fever, which is also called "break-bone fever." [5] It is nearly always found in low, wet areas. [6]

Contents

Description

E. perfoliatum can be recognized from its perfoliate leaves Eupatorium perfoliatum with bee and caterpillar.jpg
E. perfoliatum can be recognized from its perfoliate leaves

Eupatorium perfoliatum grows up to 100 cm (39 inches) tall, with opposite, serrate leaves that clasp the stems (perfoliate). [6] The stem is hairy. [6] The plant produces dense clusters of tiny white flower heads held above the foliage. In Illinois, the plant blooms during late summer and early fall. [6] Its native habitats include damp prairies, bogs, and alluvial woods. [7]

Eupatorium perfoliatum can form hybrids with other species of the genus Eupatorium, for example Eupatorium serotinum . [3]

Phytochemistry and safety

Eupatorium perfoliatum leaves and roots contain mixed phytochemicals, including polysaccharides (containing xylose and glucuronic acid), tannins, volatile oil, sesquiterpene lactones, sterols, triterpenes, alkaloids, and various flavonoids, such as quercetin, kaempferol, and caffeic acid derivatives. [8] [9] E. perfoliatum and several of its related species are listed on the Poisonous Plants Database of the US Food and Drug Administration, [10] with E. perfoliatum described as an "unapproved homeopathic medicine" with unknown safety by the US National Library of Medicine. [8] [11]

Holistic health companies marketing fraudulent supplement products that contained E. perforliatum with claims of benefit against COVID-19 were warned by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2020 about making illegal health claims and scamming consumers from their money. [12]

Traditional medicine

Eupatorium perfoliatum (also called boneset) was used in traditional medicine by Native Americans who applied extracts for fever and common colds. [8] [9] By the early 20th century, it was reported as commonly used by rural African-Americans in the Deep South to treat fever, including dengue fever, though it was considered less effective for yellow fever and typhoid fever. [5] Possible effects of E. perfoliatum for these uses remain undefined by adequate scientific research, and are unconfirmed by high-quality clinical research. [8] [9] If consumed in large amounts, tea made from its leaves may cause diarrhea. [8]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Ageratina altissima</i> Species of plant

Ageratina altissima, also known as white snakeroot, richweed, or white sanicle, is a poisonous perennial herb in the family Asteraceae, native to eastern and central North America. An older binomial name for this species is Eupatorium rugosum, but the genus Eupatorium has undergone taxonomic revision by botanists, and some species once included in it have been moved to other genera.

<i>Eupatorium</i> Genus of plants

Eupatorium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, containing from 36 to 60 species depending on the classification system. Most are herbaceous perennials growing to 0.5–3 m (1.6–9.8 ft) tall. A few are shrubs. The genus is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Most are commonly called bonesets, thoroughworts or snakeroots in North America. The genus is named for Mithridates Eupator, king of Pontus.

<i>Sambucus nigra</i> Species of flowering plant in the moschatel family Adoxaceae

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<i>Apocynum androsaemifolium</i> Species of plant

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyrrolizidine alkaloid</span> Class of chemical compounds

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), sometimes referred to as necine bases, are a group of naturally occurring alkaloids based on the structure of pyrrolizidine. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are produced by plants as a defense mechanism against insect herbivores. More than 660 PAs and PA N-oxides have been identified in over 6,000 plants, and about half of them exhibit hepatotoxicity. They are found frequently in plants in the Boraginaceae, Asteraceae, Orchidaceae and Fabaceae families; less frequently in the Convolvulaceae and Poaceae, and in at least one species in the Lamiaceae. It has been estimated that 3% of the world’s flowering plants contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Honey can contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, as can grains, milk, offal and eggs. To date (2011), there is no international regulation of PAs in food, unlike those for herbs and medicines.

<i>Asarum canadense</i> Species of flowering plant

Asarum canadense, commonly known as Canada wild ginger, Canadian snakeroot, and broad-leaved asarabacca, is a herbaceous, perennial plant which forms dense colonies in the understory of deciduous forests throughout its native range in eastern North America, from the Great Plains east to the Atlantic Coast, and from southeastern Canada south to around the Fall Line in the southeastern United States.

<i>Eutrochium</i> Genus of flowering plants

Eutrochium is a North American genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. They are commonly referred to as Joe-Pye weeds. They are native to the United States and Canada, and have non-dissected foliage and pigmented flowers. The genus includes all the purple-flowering North American species of the genus Eupatorium as traditionally defined, and most are grown as ornamental plants, particularly in Europe and North America.

<i>Eupatorium altissimum</i> Species of flowering plant

Eupatorium altissimum, with the common names tall thoroughwort and tall boneset, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Asteraceae family with a native range including much of the eastern and central United States and Canada. It is a tall plant found in open woods, prairies, fields, and waste areas, with white flowers that bloom in the late summer and fall.

<i>Symphytum officinale</i> Species of flowering plant in the borage family Boraginaceae

Symphytum officinale is a perennial flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. Along with thirty four other species of Symphytum, it is known as comfrey. To differentiate it from other members of the genus Symphytum, this species is known as common comfrey or true comfrey. Other English names include boneset, knitbone, consound, and slippery-root. It is native to Europe, growing in damp, grassy places. It is locally frequent throughout Ireland and Britain on river banks and ditches. It occurs elsewhere, including North America, as an introduced species and sometimes a weed. The flowers are mostly visited by bumblebees. Internal or long-term topical use of comfrey is discouraged due to its strong potential to cause liver toxicity.

<i>Silphium perfoliatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Silphium perfoliatum, the cup plant or cup-plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to eastern and central North America. It is an erect herbaceous perennial with triangular toothed leaves, and daisy-like yellow composite flower heads in summer.

<i>Eupatorium serotinum</i> Species of flowering plant

Eupatorium serotinum, also known as late boneset or late thoroughwort, is a fall-blooming, perennial, herbaceous plant native to North America.

Eupatorium leucolepis, commonly called justiceweed or white-bracted thoroughwort, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the family Asteraceae native from the eastern coastal United States, from New York to eastern Texas, with scattered populations inland as far as Kentucky and West Virginia.

<i>Eupatorium sessilifolium</i> Species of flowering plant

Eupatorium sessilifolium, commonly called upland boneset or sessile-leaved boneset, is a North American plant species in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the eastern and central United States, found from Maine south to North Carolina and Alabama, and west as far as Arkansas, Kansas, and Minnesota.

<i>Delphinium exaltatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Delphinium exaltatum, known by the common name tall larkspur, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Delphinium, part of the buttercup family. Other Delphinium species are also commonly known as tall larkspur, such as Delphinium barbeyi. D. exaltatum is native to the central and eastern United States, where it can be found in Kentucky, Maine, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, and Missouri.

<i>Conoclinium coelestinum</i> Species of flowering plant

Conoclinium coelestinum, commonly known as blue mistflower, mistflower, wild ageratum, or blue boneset, is a North American species of herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It was formerly classified in the genus Eupatorium, but phylogenetic analyses in the late 20th century research indicated that that genus should be split, and the species was reclassified in Conoclinium.

Eupatorium novae-angliae, commonly called New England boneset, New England justiceweed or New England thoroughwort, is a rare and endangered North American species in the family Asteraceae. It is found only in 4 counties in southern New England. The species is listed as endangered species in both states.

<i>Astragalus crassicarpus</i> Species of legume

Astragalus crassicarpus, known as ground plum or buffalo plum, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae, native to North America. It was described in 1813. The fruit is edible and was used by Native Americans as food and horse medicine. It is a host of afranius duskywing larvae. It is also known as groundplum milkvetch and pomme de prairie.

References

  1. "Eupatorium perfoliatum". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
  2. "Eupatorium perfoliatum L.". The Global Compositae Checklist (GCC) via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
  3. 1 2 Siripun, Kunsiri Chaw; Schilling, Edward E. (2006). "Eupatorium perfoliatum". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 21. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  4. "Eupatorium perfoliatum". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
  5. 1 2 Griffith, Lawrence D. (2008). Flowers and Herbs of Early America. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. p. 158.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Hilty, John (24 October 2018). "Common Boneset". Illinois Wildflowers. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  7. "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum L.) Uses, Benefits and Dosage". Drugs.com. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  9. 1 2 3 Hensel, Andreas; Maas, Mareike; Sendker, Jandirk; Lechtenberg, Matthias; Petereit, Frank; Deters, Alexandra; Schmidt, Thomas; Stark, Timo (2011). "Eupatorium perfoliatum L.: Phytochemistry, traditional use and current applications". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 138 (3): 641–651. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2011.10.002. PMID   22004891.
  10. "Flavonol-3-glucosides in 8 Eupatorium species; In: FDA Poisonous Plant Database". US Food and Drug Administration. 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  11. "Eupatorium perfoliatum L." DailyMed, National Library of Medicine, US National Institutes of Health. 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  12. "Fraudulent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Products". US Food and Drug Administration. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.