Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Common Boneset - Eupatorium perfoliatum   L.
Members of Asteraceae:
Members of Eupatorium with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 6 » Order Asterales » Family Asteraceae
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AuthorL.
DistributionThroughout the state, but absent from the Sandhills proper (and several adjacent counties) and from most barrier islands.

N.S. to Man., south to northern FL and TX.
AbundanceFrequent to common in the Mountains, the central and northern Piedmont, and most of the Coastal Plain. Absent in the Sandhills proper, and curiously scarce in the southeastern Piedmont.
HabitatFreshwater marshes, openings in floodplain forests and maple-gum swamps, wet pastures, damp meadows, montane seepage bogs.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting August-October.
IdentificationThis robust wetland plant typically reaches 3-4 feet tall, with long, pointed leaves that are not only sessile (without stalks) but the bases are joined around the stem. This "suturing" of the leaves gives rise to the fanciful notion of repairing bone fractures. No other Eupatorium has leaves like this, making this perhaps the easiest to identify of the state's 28 species in the genus.
Taxonomic CommentsNone

Other Common Name(s)Boneset (but note that other species also contain this name, and a modifier is thus needed)
State RankS5
Global RankG5
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B.A. SorrieRaven Rock SP, wet powerline near road crossing, early Nov 2020. HarnettPhoto_natural
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