Boneset Identification

Tips for identification:

Boneset can be distinguished by its serrated, lance-shaped leaves that are joined surrounding the stem. It also has a characteristic floral arrangement of white situated at the top of the plant. Click on any of the photos on this page for a closer look.

Research on traditional culinary, medicinal, and cultural uses:

Boneset is a medicine of the North and the West according to Cherokee tradition. Aligning with its Northern direction, boneset has been used to treat colds, flu, and sore throats. To make medicine for these common ailments, Banks notes to boil the leaves and roots in water for a while and pour off part of the water before letting the plant material continue to steep in the water for a few hours**. Then, the liquid is ready to be taken by the spoonful every few hours. Due to boneset’s properties as an expectorant –expelling mucus from throat and nasal passages– and its sedative benefits, it has been used to recover from bronchitis, fever, and respiratory ailments.

Additionally, among some Cherokee people, boneset has been used in collaboration with peppermint as a warm tea to alleviate coughs. It is likely to help with a fever by stimulating sweats that will break the fever, and according to Appalachian folk knowledge, was noted to help shift away from a “cold state of the body”. In Southern Appalachia, generational botanical knowledge was passed along concerning the identification and medicinal plant use of boneset, including its efficacy for alleviating “fretful babies and nervous disorders”, while also being known to have an emetic (or purgative) effect in some cases. This was noted to be useful for getting rid of phlegm, headaches, or poisons in the body***.

Research Sources:
* Garrett, James T. The Cherokee herbal: native plant medicine from the four directions. Simon and Schuster, 2003.
** Banks, William. Plants of the Cherokee.
*** Rehder, John B. Appalachian folkways. JHU Press, 2004.

Boneset Cultivation

Pests & Diseases:

Boneset can often attract the attention of grasshoppers, flea beetles, lygus bugs, weevils, sawflies, and some species of moth caterpillars. These insects like to feed on the boneset leaves, but the plant can often recover from this.

More information about boneset cultivation:
https://strictlymedicinalseeds.com/product/boneset-eupatorium-perfoliatum-seeds/
https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-grow-and-care-for-boneset-5094162#toc-overwintering
Ideal temperature range is based on personal observation.