Eupatorium perfoliatum

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{Speciesbox |image=Eupatorium perfoliatum 001.JPG |status=G5 |status_system=TNC |status_ref=<ref name=natureserve>{{Cite web |publisher=NatureServe |title=Eupatorium perfoliatum |work=NatureServe Explorer |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.143537/Eupatorium_perfoliatum |accessdate=2023-12-20 }}</ref> |genus=Eupatorium |species=perfoliatum |authority=L. |range_map=Eupatorium perfoliatum range map.jpg |synonyms_ref=<ref>{{ThePlantList |id=gcc-126117 |taxon=Eupatorium perfoliatum |authority=L.}}</ref> |synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets=true |title=Synonymy |''Cunigunda perfoliata'' (L.) Lunell |''Uncasia perfoliata'' (L.) Greene |''Eupatorium chapmanii'' Small |''Eupatorium connatum'' Michaux |''Eupatorium salviifolium'' Sims |''Eupatorium truncatum'' Muhl. ex Willd. |''Eupatorium × truncatum'' Muhl. ex Willd. |''Eupatorium cuneatum'' Engelm. 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.<ref name="fna">{{eFloras|1|242416531|Eupatorium perfoliatum |first1=Kunsiri Chaw |last1=Siripun |first2=Edward E. |last2=Schilling |volume=21}}</ref><ref>{{BONAP|ref|genus=Eupatorium|species=perfoliatum}}</ref> 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."<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last1=Griffith |first1=Lawrence D. |title=Flowers and Herbs of Early America |date=2008 |publisher=The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation |page=158}}</ref> It is nearly always found in low, wet areas.<ref name="hilty">{{cite web |last=Hilty |first=John |date=24 October 2018 |title=Common Boneset |website=Illinois Wildflowers |url=https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/cm_boneset.htm |access-date=6 September 2022}}</ref>

==Description== [[File:Eupatorium perfoliatum with bee and caterpillar.jpg|thumb|right|''E. perfoliatum'' can be recognized from its perfoliate leaves]] ''Eupatorium perfoliatum'' grows up to {{convert|100|cm|in|abbr=in}} tall, with opposite, serrate leaves that clasp the stems (perfoliate).<ref name="hilty" /> The stem is hairy.<ref name="hilty" /> 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.<ref name="hilty" /> Its native habitats include damp prairies, bogs, and alluvial woods.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin |url=https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=eupe3 |access-date=2023-01-29 |website=www.wildflower.org}}</ref>

''Eupatorium perfoliatum'' can form hybrids with other species of the genus ''Eupatorium'', for example ''Eupatorium serotinum''.<ref name="fna" />

==Distribution and habitat== ''Eupatorium perfoliatum'' is found from Nova Scotia west to Manitoba and south to the northern portion of the Florida peninsula and Texas. It grows in wet habitats such as swamps, bogs, marshes, and wet pastures.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eupatorium perfoliatum (Boneset) - FSUS |url=https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-taxon.php&plantname=Eupatorium+perfoliatum |access-date=2025-08-26 |website=fsus.ncbg.unc.edu |language=en}}</ref>

==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.<ref name="drugs">{{cite web | title=Boneset (''Eupatorium perfoliatum'' L.) Uses, Benefits and Dosage | publisher=Drugs.com | date=1 February 2019 | url=https://www.drugs.com/npp/boneset.html | access-date=4 March 2019}}</ref><ref name=Hensel>{{Cite journal |last=Hensel |first=Andreas |last2=Maas |first2=Mareike |last3=Sendker |first3=Jandirk |last4=Lechtenberg |first4=Matthias |last5=Petereit |first5=Frank |last6=Deters |first6=Alexandra |last7=Schmidt |first7=Thomas |last8=Stark |first8=Timo |year=2011 |title=''Eupatorium perfoliatum'' L.: Phytochemistry, traditional use and current applications |journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology |volume=138 |issue=3 |pages=641–651 |doi=10.1016/j.jep.2011.10.002 |pmid=22004891}}</ref> ''E. perfoliatum'' and several of its related species are listed on the ''Poisonous Plants Database'' of the US Food and Drug Administration,<ref>{{cite web |title=Flavonol-3-glucosides in 8 Eupatorium species; In: FDA Poisonous Plant Database |url=https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/plantox/detail.cfm?id=28478 |publisher=US Food and Drug Administration |accessdate=4 March 2019 |date=2019}}{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> with ''E. perfoliatum'' described as an "unapproved homeopathic medicine" with unknown safety by the US National Library of Medicine.<ref name=drugs/><ref>{{cite web |title=''Eupatorium perfoliatum'' L. |url=https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=7bb970e3-b140-4a69-9138-e15111bff420 |publisher=DailyMed, National Library of Medicine, US National Institutes of Health |accessdate=4 March 2019 |date=2019}}</ref>

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.<ref name="fda-scams">{{cite web |title=Fraudulent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Products |url=https://www.fda.gov/consumers/health-fraud-scams/fraudulent-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-products |publisher=US Food and Drug Administration |accessdate=8 April 2020 |date=7 April 2020}}</ref>

===Traditional medicine=== ''Eupatorium perfoliatum'' (also called ''boneset'') was used in traditional medicine by Native Americans who applied extracts for fever and common colds.<ref name=drugs/><ref name=Hensel/> 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.<ref name="auto"/> Possible effects of ''E. perfoliatum'' for these uses remain undefined by adequate scientific research, and are unconfirmed by high-quality clinical research.<ref name=drugs/><ref name=Hensel /> If consumed in large amounts, tea made from its leaves may cause diarrhea.<ref name=drugs/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

== External links == {{Wikiversity-bc|inline=yes|Eupatorium perfoliatum}} *{{Commons category-inline|Eupatorium perfoliatum}}

perfoliatum Category:Plants described in 1753 Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Butterfly food plants Category:Medicinal plants of North America Category:Flora of Northern America