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Eupatorium purpureum
| Common name: |
Gravel Root |
Family: |
Compositae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
43, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
None known |
| Range: |
Eastern N. America - New Hampshire to Minnesota, south to Florida and Oklahoma[187].. |
| Habitat: |
Swampy and rich low ground and in woods, especially on calcareous soils[4, 21, 43]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
1 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 3 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| E. maculatum[H]
E. ternifolium[H]
E. trifolium[H]
E. verticillatum[H]
Eupatoriadelphus purpureus[G]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Eupatoire D'Eau Rouge [E], Gravel Root [S,H], Gravelroot [H], Gravelweed [H], Gravelwort [E], Joe Pye Weed [H,E], Joe-Pye Weed [L], Jopi Weed [H], Purper Leverkruid [E], Purple Boneset [H], Purple Joe Pye Weed [H], Purple-flowered Boneset [H], Queen Of The Meadow Root [H], Red Gravel [E], Roter Wasserhanf [E], Sweet-scented Joe-pye-weed [B], Sweetscented Joepyeweed [P], Trumpet Weed [L], Trumpet-weed [H], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
purpureum = purple;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Asterales. Renamed to Asteraceae -- Aster family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
France; Germany; Netherlands; Us; Us(Amerindian); Us(Appalachia); Us(Colonial)
|
Physical Characteristics
Perennial growing to 2m by 1m . It is hardy to zone 4. It is in flower from August to October, and the seeds ripen from September to November. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.
The plant is self-fertile.
It is noted for attracting wildlife.
We rate it 1/5 for edibility and
3/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade.
It requires moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Meadow, Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.Edible Uses
Salt.
The roots have been burnt and their ashes used as salt to flavour
foods[257].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Astringent; Diuretic; Nervine; Tonic.
Gravel root was used by the native N. American Indians as a diaphoretic
to induce perspiration and break a fever. The plant was quickly adopted by
the white settlers and still finds a use in modern herbalism[268].
The whole plant, but especially the root, is astringent, diuretic, nervine
and tonic[4, 21, 165]. It works particularly on the genito-urinary system and
the uterus[238]. Especially valuable as a diuretic and stimulant, as well as
an astringent tonic[4], a tea made from the roots and leaves has been used to
eliminate stones from the urinary tract, to treat urinary incontinence in
children, cystitis, urethritis, impotence etc[222, 254, 268]. It is also said
to be helpful in treating rheumatism and gout by increasing the removal of
waste from the kidneys[254, 257]. The leaves and flowering stems are
harvested in the summer before the buds open and are dried for later use. The
roots are harvested in the autumn and dried for later use[238]. We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.
Other Uses
Dye; Straw.
The stems have been used as straws[257].
The fruits yield a pink or red textile dye[268].
Cultivation details
Succeeds in ordinary garden soil that is well-drained but moisture
retentive in sun or part shade[200]. Plants can be grown in quite coarse
grass, which can be cut annually in the autumn[233].
A very cold-hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to about -25°c[187].
The bruised leaves have a vanilla-like odour[213].
Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[233].
Butterflies are attracted to this plant[187].
Propagation
Seed - sow spring in a cold frame and only just cover the seed. Prick
out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle
and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer.
Division in spring or autumn[111]. Very easy, the clumps can be replanted
direct into their permanent positions.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [W] Photos
(common names, range) from the University of Washington Medicinal Herb Garden.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [S] Image
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [S] Illustration
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for eupatorium purpureum (a possible synonym).
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
[111] Sanders. T. W. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge 1926
A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.
[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.
[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.
[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
[268] Stuart. M. (Editor) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism Orbis Publishing. London. 1979 ISBN 0-85613-067-2
Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.
Readers Comments
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Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Eupatorium+purpureum
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Eupatorium+purpureum
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