Photo by Jim Jung. All rights reserved.

Joe-Pye Weed

Joe-Pye Weed gets its common name from a New England aborigine who achieved distinction treating sick colonists. It is an excellent garden plant - especially for those gardeners who like butterflies. I've seen plants so covered with feeding Tiger Swallowtail butterflies that the flowers themselves were invisible. Butterflies aside, Joe-Pye Weed is a beautiful plant at maturity. Reaching five feet in height it's topped with large clusters of purplish-pink blossoms. Not only butterflies but hummingbirds also find it a good place to stop for a snack.

Joe-Pye Weed was in common use among aboriginal tribes for a variety of ills but primarily for breaking fevers. The Cherokee and Iroquois tribes used it for treating kidney stones and other urinary tract disorders. Other tribes used a decoction as a bath for children believing it would cause them to grow up strong and healthy. The Meskwakis used the roots for a particularly potent love charm, and many tribes used the flowers to make a red dye. Colonial and frontier yarb (herb) doctors learning of its uses from the aborigines incorporated the plant into their practices as well.

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