Boneset

Eupatorium perfoliatum

Also: Feverwort, Thoroughwort, Ague weed

WarmingDryingRelaxing

Breaks a flu fever and eases the deep ache in the bones.

A wetland perennial whose paired leaves fuse around the stem, so the stalk seems to pierce a single leaf, topped in late summer with flat clusters of fuzzy white flowers. Boneset is intensely bitter; taken hot, it opens the skin to release a fever and loosens the aching muscles of flu.

Energetics: Warming, drying, relaxing
Taste: Intensely bitter, pungent
Family: Asteraceae (daisy family)
Parts used: Leaves and flowers

Medicinal uses 4

The tags sort the evidence behind each use by kind. Members are able to tap a condition to compare every herb for it.

Traditional useLab and mechanism studiesClinical studies

Colds & fluTLC
The classic remedy for flu that settles deep in the bones with chills and aching; a lab study found it blocked influenza A from attaching to cells.
FeverTLC
Sipped hot, relaxes the skin and muscles so the heat of a fever can break in a sweat.
Aches & painTLC
Eases the deep muscle and bone aches that come with fever.
Sluggish liver & digestionTLC
Taken cool in small sips before meals, a strong bitter tonic for a poor appetite and a slow liver.

Preparations

Small, frequent doses of hot infusion or tincture for fevers, and hot flu blends.

Members are able to see the amounts, ratios, and methods for each preparation, search by condition, and match herbs to your constitution.

Become a member · $39 a year Log in

Cautions

Large doses cause nausea and vomiting, and a whole cup of the hot tea can bring on nausea. Keep to small, frequent doses.
It carries trace pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which strain the liver over time; use it for days during an acute illness, not as a daily tonic.
People allergic to ragweed, chamomile, or other daisy-family plants may react to it.
Flu with trouble breathing, chest pain, confusion, or a fever over 103°F needs medical care.

Medication interactions

Practitioner Practitioners are able to see the 2 types of medicine flagged for boneset, each with the mechanism and what to do. The plain-language cautions above stay open to everyone.

Practitioner membership · $150 a year Log in

Pregnancy & breastfeeding

PregnancyAvoid

Boneset carries trace pyrrolizidine alkaloids, compounds that can harm the liver, so it stays out of pregnancy.

BreastfeedingAvoid

The same trace alkaloids could reach a nursing baby, so it waits until after weaning.

Practitioner Practitioners are able to see the full entry from the Moss Herbalism Pregnancy Safety Database: trimester ratings, uterine and placental action, breastfeeding and nursing-baby effects, chemistry, traditional use, studies, and sources.

Practitioner membership · $150 a year Log in

Folklore

Perfoliatum means through the leaf, for the stem that runs through each fused pair of leaves, and by the doctrine of signatures that joined leaf promised to knit broken bones. Others trace the name to breakbone fever, an old name for dengue, whose aches it eased. The Haudenosaunee and other Native nations of the East gave it for fevers, and through the nineteenth century bundles of it hung drying in farmhouse attics, ready for winter.

How to grow

A native perennial for full sun and moist to wet soil, three to five feet tall. Sow seed in fall, or chill it for a month before sowing in spring. The late-summer flowers draw bees, wasps, and butterflies. Cut the tops just as the flowers open.

In the wild

Wet meadows, marshes, ditches, and stream banks across eastern and central North America, from Nova Scotia and Quebec west to the Dakotas and south to Florida and Texas.

Every herb here fits some people better than others. Find out which ones fit you.

Match by condition Book a consult