Right now our roadsides are lined with a very interesting, useful, and pretty weed known as hyssopleaf thoroughwort or hyssop-leaved boneset (Eupatorium hyssopifolium). It is a perennial herb in the aster family, and like many members of the aster family it has medicinal uses along with beautiful flowers, and is good for wildlife, too. This plant is a native to the eastern United States, but is frequently seen in gardens and parks in other places. It’s found as a native from Massachusetts south through Florida and west to Texas, Kansas, and Illinois. It likes full sunlight to partial shade and well drained sandy or rocky soil. It’s a fairly adaptable plant, but it prefers acidic soils. It’s found along highways, in fields and meadows, on right of ways, and in disturbed areas like construction sights.

This plant is very common in our area, especially up here in the sandhills, so it is often considered a weed, but in areas where it is not so common people often use it as an ornamental. It can be an attractive border around grassy fields or yards. It’s also frequently used in butterfly gardens, and is sometimes planted around the outside of crop fields to attract bees and other pollinators. People even sometimes use it as a border plant along side walks or in gardens with other fall bloomers. It’s so popular as an ornamental that it can be bought in nurseries or as seeds.

The uses for hyssopleaf thoroughwort are far more numerous than just as an ornamental, though. It’s actually a well known medicinal herb that has been used for quite a list of ailments. In fact the name thoroughwort is because of the supposed thoroughness with which it cures illnesses. Native Americans frequently used the leaves and flowers of this plant as an antivenom for insect and reptile bites. Even today many herbalists will use it for colds and flu, bronchitis, skin diseases, and as an antibacterial and antiviral. It’s also frequently used to break fevers by inducing sweating. But like any type of medicine, hyssopleaf thoroughwort can also have some side effects and interactions with other medications, so don’t take this or any herb without discussing it with your doctor and a knowledgeable herbalist.

Hyssopleaf thoroughwort, like many other medicinal plants is also edible for both people and wildlife. People usually use the leaves and flowers either raw or sautéed in salads. The leaves can also be dried and used to flavor vegetable dishes, chicken, fish, or pork, soups, and stews. Dried leaves can be brewed into a tea, as well. Flowers and leaves are also sometimes used as a garnish on other dishes. Quite a few kinds of wildlife like this plant, too. The fragrant flowers are great for attracting several types of bees, wasps, and butterflies as well as hummingbirds. Later, when the flowers become seeds, the seeds are eaten by a number of resident and migrating birds as well as small mammals. Interestingly, very few insects feed on the leaves or stems, and this plant is also not terribly interesting to grazing or browsing animals like deer or cattle.

This plant is far from the only Florida “weed” that I’ve presented that people around here take for granted, but that people in other areas actually pay to be able to have around. We sometimes tend to forget what a magnificent area we are lucky enough to live in (and I know that’s true for many other places in the world, too). So just try to remember that what you may see as a weed, may have all sorts of uses and benefits if you learn more about it.

If you enjoy beautiful nature photography and artwork along with informative and entertaining nature and animal related content, then you’ll love this blog. Don’t miss another episode. Just subscribe below!