Freshwater Wetlands/Boneset

COMMON NAME: Boneset

OTHER COMMON NAME(S): Augewee, Crosswort, Feverwort, Indian Sage, Sweating Plant, Teasel, Thoroughwort, Vegetable Antimony

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Eupatorium perfoliatum

FAMILY: Asteraceae

COMMUNITY: Freshwater Wetland

STATUS: Native

LIFESPAN: Perennial

HEIGHT: 1.5 to 5 feet

FLOWERING TIME: Late July to October

FRUITING TIME: August to November

DISTRIBUTION: Quebec to Florida, North Dakota to Texas ~ Throughout NJ outside the central Pine Barrens

IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS: Broad head of dull white, downy flowers ~ Leaves join on either side of the stalk as though the leaves were one piece and the stalk grows up through the middle.

GENERAL INFORMATION: Naive Americans and early settlers recognized the virtues of Boneset to treat a variety of conditions from ringworm to flu. Colonial Americans used a decoction (medicine prepared by boiling thick part of plant in water or some other liquid; ingested hot or cold) and/or poultice (soft, moist mass of plant parts wrapped in muslin or gauze and applied the skin) to treat snake bites. During the Civil War, when medical supplies were short, boneset tea was used by Confederate troops as a substitute for quinine in fighting fevers.  The tea brewed from Boneset was renowned as a cure for break-bone fever (an old-fashion term for an illness characterized by fever, joint and muscle pain) in the old South.  Hence the name boneset.  Thoroughwort was another early name because of its thoroughness in treating fevers. Boneset appears in the 1998 edition of the Physicians’ Desk Reference for Herbal Medicines.  The medicinal part is the herb after flowering. The herb acts as an anti-inflammatory, a diaphoretic and a bitter.  Boneset is used in homeopathy as a treatment for flu and febrile diseases.

Please note: While harvesting wild berries/fruit is permitted at Island Beach State Park, visitors must adhere to park regulations at all times and must not damage vegetation or go off designated trails.  This information is presented for educational purposes.