Students for Stewardship The Cork Board
← Back to the library

Eupatorium

Eupatorium perfoliatum (yoo-puh-TOR-ee-um per-foh-lee-AH-tum)

Family: Asteraceae Native Herbaceous (3-15 ft)

Boneset is a large herbaceous, clump-forming rhizomatous perennial herb in the aster (Asteraceae) family that is native to the eastern USA and Canada and as far west as TX, NB and the Dakotas. It can be found in various kinds of wetlands, including marshes, bogs, fens, seeps, edges of rivers, sandy flats and ditches. The plant will grow 4-6 feet tall with a 2-4 foot spread and can form colonies. The Latin name, Eupatorium , is derived from Eupator, a 1st century BCE king of Pontus, famed for his herbal skills. The species name, perfoliatum , means "through the leaf" since the stem seems to grow through the paired leaves. Boneset has small white flowers that appear in late summer and fall. The plant grows well in average, medium to wet soils with a consistent water source. It prefers full sun or part shade and tolerates both sandy and clay soils with plenty of organic matter. It will tolerate short-term occasional flooding. Use this plant in the native pollinator garden and wetland areas such as ponds, streams, marshes or rain and water gardens. This plant was selected as the 2003 NC Wildflower of the Year , a program managed by the North Carolina Botanical Garden with some financial support from the Garden Club of North Carolina. Diseases, Insects, and Other Plant Problems: No serious insect or disease problems. Foliage may scorch if soils are allowed to dry out.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ Reconciled to full toolbox: matched by slug to slug 'eupatorium-perfoliatum'. Identity (id/common/scientific name) preserved from the original 87-plant Hunnicutt set; attribute data refreshed from the 63-attribute toolbox scrape.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Often confused with Eupatorium altissimum
Fills a similar niche Lobelia cardinalis Solidago sempervirens Vernonia noveboracensis

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Herbaceous Perennial; Native Plant; Wildflower
Life cycle
Perennial
USDA zones
3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasional Flooding | Occasionally Wet
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 4 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in. | Width: 3 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in.
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping; Erect
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Lanceolate
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf feel
Rough
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
The yellow-green leaves have a wrinkled look, are finely toothed, and their bases join to surround the stem. Lower leaves are larger, up to 8 inches long and 2 inches wide. Veins are conspicuous and undersides are hairy. Upper leaves are smaller and sessile.
Flower color
White
Flower value
Fragrant; Good Cut; Good Dried
Flower form
Corymb
Flower shape
Star; Tubular
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Tiny fragrant white tubular disc florets occur in clusters of 10-20. Numerous small clusters form larger clusters that are 2-8 inches across and occur at the tops of the stems and upper leaf axils. Each floret has 5 spreading petal-like lobes and a long 2-parted, thin style. The bracts at the base of the flowers are light green with some white at the tips. They are in 1-2 layers and are oblong, hairy and gland-dotted. Bloom time is July to Sept.
Bloom time
Fall; Summer
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit detail
Achenes have small tufts of hair for wind dispersal. Fruit displays from September to November.
Stem detail
The central stem and side stems are covered with long white hairs.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Eastern and central USA and Canada
Distribution
AL , AR , CT , DC , DE , FL , GA , IA , IL , IN , KS , KY , LA , MA , MD , ME , MI , MN , MO , MS , NC , ND , NE , NH , NJ , NY , OH , OK , PA , RI , SC , SD , TN , TX , VA , VT , WI , WV Canada: MB , NB , NS , ON , PE , QC
Wildlife value
Attracts butterflies and bees. Various moths use this plant as a host. Some birds will eat the seeds
Attracts
Bees; Butterflies; Pollinators; Predatory Insects; Songbirds
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Fall
Fruit type
Achene

Edibility

Toxic and bitter

Uses (ethnobotany)

Historically used in herbal medicine for the treatment of cases of flu, fevers, colds, and a variety of other maladies.

Landscape Use
Landscape location
Meadow; Pond; Riparian; Woodland
Landscape theme
Butterfly Garden; Native Garden; Pollinator Garden; Rain Garden; Water Garden
Design feature
Border
Garden tags
#native perennial #water garden #native garden #native wildflower #NC Native Pollinator Plant #fall flowers #white flowers #summer flowers #NC native #native shrub #Piedmont Mountains FACW #food source herbage #food source nectar #food source pollen #Coastal FACW #food source fall #butterfly friendly #Audubon #food source hard mast fruit #NC Wildflower of the Year #wet soils tolerant #perennial #poisonous #collier preserve tn #pollinator plant #rabbit resistant #deer resistant #beneficial insects #rain garden #moth friendly
Problems & Resistance
Resistant to
Deer; Rabbits
Particularly resistant to
Deer and rabbit resistant
Propagation
Division; Seed
Fire risk
low flammability
Poison severity
Low
Poison parts
Flowers; Leaves; Seeds; Stems
Poison symptoms
It causes vomiting and has a laxative effect laxative in large doses. May cause dermatitis. Potential for liver damage if used long-term. Drying the plant parts helps to decrease toxins.
Toxic principle
pyrrolizidine alkaloids
Contact dermatitis
Yes
Toxicity summary
Low severity poison; parts: Flowers; Leaves; Seeds; Stems; contact dermatitis

Planted at Hunnicutt

📍 Add another planting