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Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum
Boneset is a tall perennial herb which can reach five feet tall. It has
tapering lance-shaped leaves and many white-to-light purple flowers. In my
western Pennsylvania garden it begins to bloom in mid-August. It is native
to eastern North America, in meadows and marshlands. The aerial parts are
gathered when it is in bloom.
Native Americans made Boneset into a tea to treat colds, fever, and the
pains of arthritis and rheumatism.
European settlers were told of its attributes and by the early 1900s they
regarded it as a cure-all. Since they called the flu “break-bone fever”,
Bone-set was its cure.
It stimulates resistance to viral and bacterial infections, loosens phlegm
and promotes its removal by coughing. It has traditionally been taken for
rheumatic illness, skin conditions and intestinal parasites.
Boneset is toxic if taken in excessive doses.
(Information obtained from “The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants”
by Andrew Chevallier)
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