Joe-Pye weed

Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium fistulosum) is an attractive wildflower that prefers moist, rich soil.

It is common in eastern and central US, alongside ditches and marshes, or in wet forests. Commonly it grows five to six feet tall, but can attain ten feet under ideal conditions. Blooming from mid-summer to frost, it makes an attractive backdrop in garden plots, and brings in butterflies, bees, and other beneficial insects.

Joe-Pye Weed is a member of the sunflower family (Asteraceae). Other members of the genus include Eupatorium rugosum or Snakeroot, E. perfoliatum or Boneset (also Thoroughwort). Species of Eupatorium have been used in folk medicine, for instance to excrete excess uric acid which causes gout, but species of this genus contain toxic compounds that can cause liver damage.