Joe Pye Weed: An Important Plant with Many Names

Joe Pye Weed is in its full glory right now. It is tall, covered in showy purple flowers, and there are always butterflies flitting about it, especially swallowtails. It is certainly a highlight of my late summer garden.

I’ve long been familiar with its benefits for pollinators and medicinal value, but this year I’ve become really interested in finding out which species of Joe Pye Weed I have.

Joe Pye Weed first arrived in my garden nearly 20 years ago when I hired a company specializing in native plants to help me with an area that had gotten out of control with weeds. The plants originally came from a nursery, and the only information I was given was the common name, Joe Pye Weed.

The common name has a rich history. According to Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians, Joe Pye Weed was named after a Native American who used the plant to cure both indigenous people and white settlers from Typhoid Fever. According to the Ashinaabe, Joe Pye is an anglicized spelling of Zhopai, the name of this Native American medicine man.[1]

Of course, plants often have a variety of common names. Another popular one for this plant is Gravel Root. Many herbalists value this plant for its support when passing kidney stones.

When I first learned of this plant when I was in graduate school, it was in the genus Eupatorium. Not so anymore. Joe Pye Weed is now in the genus Eutrochium, and there are 3 distinct species of Eutrochium that go by the common name Joe Pye Weed: Eutrochium maculatum, Eutrochium purpureum, and Eutrochium fistulosum. Luckily, all 3 species attract pollinators and seem to have the same medicinal applications.

After reading a detailed (and entertaining) article by 7Song[2] that outlines how to botanically distinguish these 3 species, I learned that the two main things you need to know to determine which species you have: 1) how many florets there are, and 2) whether the stem is hollow or not. When I looked closely at the flowers on my plants, I realized I wasn’t exactly sure which part was the floret. Luckily, 7Song’s article provided a helpful photo which made it easy. But boy, those florets are tiny! I put on my glasses and got to counting. I found that my plant had 7 florets in a flower head. This meant I could rule out E. maculatum which has 10-16 florets per head. It was either E. purpurea or E. fistulosum.

Now, all I had to do was cut the stem and see if it was hollow inside. I tromped back out to the garden, clippers in hand, and let out a triumphant sigh when I saw that the inside of the stem was indeed hollow. I had my answer: Eutrochium fistulosum.

Figuring out the exact species of a plant may not be for everyone. But for me, it brings another dimension of joy, knowing my surroundings at a deeper level. It is also extremely important when determining the medicinal value of a plant to know exactly what plant you have. Just because two plants have the same common name, and even if they are closely related botanically, it does not mean they actually are the same or have the same medicinal properties. In this case, all three species of Joe Pye Weed do appear to be interchangeable, but the traditional literature mostly refers to the medicinal use of Eupatorium (now Eutrochium) purpureum, which is not the plant that I have in my garden.

As I was doing research for this article, I found that I am not alone in my love for this plant. It is very popular among people who are interested in native plant gardening. I was inspired by the number of people and organizations I found that are doing their part to improve the world one backyard at a time. According to Backyard Ecology,TM “anyone can make a positive difference in the natural world and leave an ecological legacy on their property.”[3] Planting a garden, attracting pollinators, and creating small scale plant sanctuaries is something each of us can do. It may not directly stop the destruction of our forests, but I know that it does do something positive for my heart, body, mind, and spirit. And in that way, it does make a difference.

[1] “Joe Pye Weed,” Mohican.com, https://www.mohican.com/joe-pye-weed/.

[2] 7Song, “The Eupatorium Story-Joe Pye Weed, Boneset and White Snakeroot, Part two,” Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, 2024, https://7song.com/the-eupatorium-story-joe-pye-weed-boneset-and-white-snakeroot-part-two/.

[3] “Why is Backyard EcologyTM Important?” Backyard EcologyTM, 2024, https://www.backyardecology.net/about/.

About me

My name is Jillian Bar-av and I am a Registered Herbalist and Licensed Nutritionist. I specialize in supporting people who have complex urinary tract conditions, such as Interstitial Cystitis, with a comprehensive holistic approach that helps people to increase their quality of life. I’ve seen how healing herbs can be for the urinary system and how much they can help people to feel well again. Working with herbs is not only deeply healing, but part of my philosophy that it takes healthy people to create a healthy planet, and I want to make a difference for both.

If you are interested in learning about my clinical practice, or scheduling an appointment, you can do that here: https://www.greenspringherbs.com/treatments

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