boneset
It's not hard to get a picture of a butterfly around this plant in the early Fall. They tend to flock to it. Eupatorium greggii sprawls across wet, shady areas like the one here. The blooms occur mostly in September.
Popular names for the plant are blue mist-flower and blue boneset, although the color is more lavender than blue. The name "boneset" is applied generically to Eupatoriums and comes from the fact that a tea made from the leaves is said to be a cure for "bone-break" fever.
Mrs. William Dana Starr, in "How to Know the Wild Flowers," published in 1900, said, "To one whose childhood was passed in the country some fifty years ago the name and sight of this plant is fraught with unpleasant memories. The attic or woodshed was hung with bunches of the dried herb, which served so many grewsome warnings against wet feet, or any over-exposure which might result in cold or malaria. A certain Nemesis, in the shape of a nauseous draught which was poured down the throat under the name of 'boneset tea,' attended such a catastrophe."
Perhaps if I had lived in the country 150 years ago my memories would be different. To my mind though it brings memories of mild sunny afternoons with butterflies floating in the air above it. This plant is located outside our breakfast room windows, along with some red and white salvias which are also blooming iright now.
Posted by Bill Hopkins on September 17, 2003 08:53 PMSounds like how I feel about camomille tea. My mother used to pour it down my throat whenever I had a cold or flu. "It's good for you," she'd say. And now the smell of it makes my nose pucker and my throat burn.
Posted by: Joel at September 18, 2003 02:10 AMShoot, I just came inside after taking a picture of a butterfly just like that which was flying around my Lantana.
Now I will have to go out and find another.
Nice shot though.
