Boneset (Eupatorium species) is a composite flower that stands from one to three feet tall, with a crown of small individual white blooms. Certain species can grow in stands on field edges, open woodlands, and in garden plantings, as they can be tolerant to disturbance and spread through their stems below the soil and self seeding. While sometimes not desired for a “weedy” tendency of quick colonization and resilience to disturbance, bonesets are native plants that provide essential late summer resources.
There are three species of bonesets most likely to be encountered in Missouri: tall boneset (Eupatorium altissimum), American boneset, or known just as boneset (E. perfoliatum), and late boneset (E. serotinum). Tall boneset (E. altissimum) is most likely to be found in unplowed prairies. American boneset (E. perfoliatum) prefers wetter soils, like pond banks, wetlands, and fens. Late boneset (E. serotinum) is tolerant of disturbance, and can be found along habitat edges. Further, American boneset (E. perfoliatum) can be identified by its perfoliate leaves, meaning they wrap completely around the stem, as if the stem punctures the leaf. Tall boneset (E. altissimum) and late boneset (E. serotinum) have oppositely held, oval shaped leaves. There are nine total species in the genus Eupatorium found in Missouri, and the Missouri Department of Conservation further describes them in this article.
A stand of boneset plants is a rich resource to the larger ecological community. Their flowers provide nectar for visiting butterflies, skippers, wasps, bees, flies, and beetles. These insects recruit predators to the plants, like spiders and lacewings, and this concentrated abundance of insects may attract opportunistic birds. These plants are hosts of insects year-round, like to Clymene moths (Haploa clymene), whose caterpillars feed upon the leaves, and the boneset borer moth (Carmenta pyralidiformis), a clearwing moth, which lives in and feeds on the roots and stems of the plant as a caterpillar.
Each of these species would make valuable additions to restoration efforts. American boneset, E. altissimum, is highlighted in the Grow Native! Native Plant Database.
Another late-summer blooming, white composite flower is white snakeroot (Ageratina altissima). These plants are closely related to the Eupatorium species—both are members of the Eupatorieae tribe of the Asteraceae family. White snakeroot (A. altissima) tends to grow in shady, moist conditions. American boneset (E. perfoliatum) also prefers moist conditions, but does best in partial to full sunlight. White snakeroot has wide leaves that are almost heart-shaped at the base, whereas boneset species have oval to lance-shaped leaves.
Bonesets, particularly (E. serotonum) and non-native Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota) may be found in overlapping conditions. They both have white, flat-topped blooms, but closer investigation of their flowers and leaves will guide identification. Queen Anne’s Lace (D. carota) is not a in the taxonomic family of Asters, or composites, as bonesets are. Queen Anne’s Lace (D. carota) is a member of the family Apiaceae, or the carrot family, previously known as Umbelliferae. Their flowers are arranged in an arrangement called an umbel, meaning that flower stalks radiate out from a single point on the stem. The flower heads of bonesets are in corymbs, meaning the florets come out of the stem at multiple points. Additionally, Queen Anne’s Lace has very fine leaves while bonesets have larger leaves that are oval or lance shaped.
This late summer wave of life reminds us of the importance of floral resources sustained through the end of the growing season, and of the rich, interconnected ecosystem in which we live.
Photo above, left to right: Tall boneset (E. altissimum), by Mike Leahy; late boneset (E. serotinum) by Lilly Germeroth; American boneset (E. perfoliatum) by Carol Davit.
