Alleviating Suffering of Body & Spirit: Boneset Plant Profile

Now, friends, here is a plant profile that I’ve had on my list of “plant profiles to write” for quite a number of years. It remained on the list as opposed to be written because it’s not the most widely available plant and it’s rather specific, if effectively so, in its use. So Boneset (Eupatorium perfolium) waited on my ever-growing plant list as other plants were written about and my patrons requested specific profiles they were wanting to see.

And then the most recent global pandemic arrived and Boneset, along with other pandemic plant allies, and the people who used became something I was increasingly interested in.

To be clear, I am incredibly grateful for and supportive of all the interventions that we have developed as a species to keep ourselves and our communities healthy, including masks and vaccines. Also, the resources below are in regards to an influenza pandemic and not a covid-based one. I was simply curious about how our herbal elders of pandemics past used the plants they had available to support community health, alleviate suffering, and prevent unnecessary death.

The first resource I stumbled upon was the Influenza Encyclopedia created by the University of Michigan. It’s an extensive archive of reports, medical articles, and more about what life was like, the treatments provided, and health measures taken during the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 in the United States. Here is where you can find articles from The Eclectic Medical Journal which discusses herbal treatments.

Then I came across Kathy Abascal’s excellent book Herbs & Influenza: How Herbs Used in the 1918 Flu Pandemic Can Be Effective Today. When my household and community was dealing with a robust strain of influenza a few years back, I learned about plant allies in this book that I hadn’t read about before that are now some of my favorite remedies when dealing with colds and the ‘flu.

All of this is to say that Boneset is an important very specific sort of ally that many would benefit from and has proven itself to be a plant that is useful during periods of significant human suffering.

So, let’s meet Boneset.

image via SB Johnny

Boneset
(Eupatorium perfolium)

Common + Folk Names : Agueweed, crosswort, feverwort, sweating plant, tedral, thoroughstem, vegetable antimony, wild isaac, hierba de chiva, ayapana, ogaakananiibiish

Tarot Cards : The Devil

Element : Water

Zodiac Signs : Capricorn (Guardian Herb)

Planets : Saturn

Moon Phase : Full Moon

Parts used : Aerial parts

Habitat : Native to wetlands of North America. 

Growing conditions : Grows in damp areas and wetlands. Prefers rich soil, damp conditions, and full to partial sun.

Collection : Harvest before flowering.

Flavor : Bitter, pungent

Temperature : Cold

Moisture : Dry

Tissue State : Heat/Excitation, Damp/Stagnation

Constituents : Sesquiterpene lactones, polysaccharides, flavonoids, glucoside, diterpenes, gallic acid, sterols, essential oils.

Actions : Aperient, antispasmodic, astringent, bitter, carminative, cholagogue, diaphoretic, emetic, expectorant, febrifuge, immunostimulant, laxative, peripheral vasodilator, stimulant, tonic

Main Uses

I remember having a fever as a child where it felt like my bones were breaking - it was miserable and I’m sure many of you have experienced such discomfort. So when I learned about an herb known to treat "bonebreak fever" I was curious (though not looking forward to) being able to use the herb myself when I experienced a similar fever again. A few years back another bonebreak fever arrived and I remembered that I had a bottle of Boneset tincture in my herb cabinet. The herb was a blessed ally to have and reduced the severity and time that I was in pain as well as helping to “break” or relieve my fever. It's now an herb that I gratefully recommend to my family and community when a bonebreak fever shows up for them. 

Boneset has long been used within Indigenous communities in North America and was introduced to European Americans herbalists and physicians who would use the plant during influenza pandemics (I highlight Anishinaabe knowledge of the herb below). The herb is regarded as a generally safe as long as it is not taken in high doses (in which vomiting may occur) and was highly valued by early twentieth century doctors and herbalists. (1) The herb alleviates pain, high fever, and acts as a valuable expectorant when there is a build-up of catarrh in the system. Boneset has a cleansing quality to it which means that in addition to reducing mucous caused by illness in the systems, it also helps to clear toxicity in the body such as infection as well as general congestion. 

As an expectorant, Boneset helps to open the airways and alleviate coughs. It is stimulating, too, which makes it a helpful ally to those who are too weak to cough strong enough to expel phlegm and are experiencing trouble breathing. The pulse indications as established by the Eclectics for Boneset are "patients with a full and large pulse, with the pulse current exhibiting little waves." (2) I can also attest to the traditional recommendation of giving Boneset frequently at the earliest onset of symptoms to reduce or avoid influenza altogether. I often combine Boneset with Pleurisy Root (Asclepias tuberosa) and this has historical precedence as a frequent combination for influenza patients. In the 1930s Maude Grieve (or her editor, fellow herbalist Hilda Leyel) noted that Boneset was used by African American communities in the American South for fever "as well as its tonic effects." (3) I've given the traditional recommended dosage and recipe for Boneset in the dosage guidelines below.

Anne McIntyre recommends using Boneset as a body wash which can be a good way to administer the remedy to children. (4) In addition to fever, Boneset is useful for alleviating respiratory infections especially when it is taken at first indication of infection and when there are accompanying aches and pains. Boneset is immunostimulating helping to protect the body against bacterial and viral infections and it has also been shown useful in alleviating the pain of autoimmune conditions.

One of the other traditional uses of Boneset is as an herb to take when a bone has been broken. Anishinaabe elder, teacher, and ethnobotanist, Keewaydinoquay taught that "[B]oneset's chief virtue is that it is specific for the periosteum tissue around the outside of a bone. When a bone is broken this tissue may be cut. For the bone to regrow properly, this tissue has to be mended, and this plant helps the body do that." (5) To support the healing of a broken bone, the herb should be ingested in tea form and Keewaydinoquay's apprentice, Mary Siisip Geniusz recommends combining the Boneset with calcium rich Nettles (Urtica dioica) for best results. The herb should also be applied topically as a poultice to aid healing according to Keewaydinoquay's teacher, the mashkikiiwikwewag, Nodjimahkwe. (6)

Boneset also has use as a digestive aid as its bitter flavor helps to regulate the bowels and aid the process of digestion. As with helping to clear congestion from the lungs, Boneset clears a "congested" digestion. Look for signs of slow digestion and constipation as indications that Boneset might be useful. 

image via @nagaranbasaran

Magickal Uses

Connect with the herb as ally when exploring the energies of and pathworking The Devil card in tarot. Use in Saturnian rituals and acts of magick. Scott Cunningham records the use of Boneset as an herb of protection and exorcism which align with the herbs medicinal qualities as well as being a plant of Saturn. (7)

The Boneset Personality

Those who would be aided by working with Boneset, especially in essence form, are often suffering under oppressive and untended to trauma (imagine a bonebreak fever of the spirit). They show signs of unending exhaustion and, on an energetic level (and sometimes a physical one, too), they struggle to take a deep breath. They are laboring under a congestion of the spirit and working with Boneset can help to clear out some of that stagnant energy. One of the aspects of healing that can feel particularly treacherous to Boneset folks, is having to find themselves in a position of vulnerability and being cared for by community and by those folks who have their welfare in mind. Boneset can help folks to repair their ability to feel empowered in giving consent and establishing healthy boundaries. Much of the work of Boneset healing is Saturnian in nature - foundations are being formed, skillsets are being tested, and resiliency established. It’s a useful herb for many during a Saturn Return. On the other side of a healing crisis, Boneset folks can emerge feeling energized and able for the first time in a long time.

Contraindications : Large doses can lead to vomiting and diarrhea. Use no more than five days consecutively and then take a break.

Drug interactions : None known.

Dosage : Standard dosage. Frequent doses of Boneset, especially when combined with Pleurisy Root (Asclepias tuberosa) for influenza is a traditional remedy and I've given a full description of a influenza pandemic doctor's recommendations as below for reference:

A physician who saw ten to 35 influenza patients during the epidemic began treatment by mixing two teaspoons of boneset and one teaspoon of pleurisy root in a cup of hot water. This was given immediately with a second does 15 minutes later, a third half an hour later, and a fourth dose an hour after the first dose. He reported that this treatment typically reduced a fever of 103 - 104 degrees by three to four degrees in a few hours. (8)

🌿

I hope this exploration of the healing gifts of Boneset not only proved useful for your own practice but was enjoyed by those of you whose Venn diagram of herbal medicine and history is a circle.

If you’re interested in learning more about herbs for cold and ‘flu season, check out my post on creating a winter wellness apothecary. If you’re interested in learning more about the modern community health response to our current pandemic with an herbal focus, check out my resource page.

This post was made possible through patron support.
❤︎ Thanks, friends. ❤︎

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Footnotes

(1) Kathy Abascal, Herbs & Influenza: How herbs used in the 1918 Flu Pandemic can be effective today (Vashon, WA: Tigana Press, 2006), 63.

(2) Abascal, 63.

(3) Maude Grieve, A Modern Herbal: Volume I (New York: Dover Publications, 1971), 119.

(4) Anne McIntyre, Dispensing with Tradition: A Practitioner's Guide to using Indian and Western Herbs the Ayurvedic Way (Cheltenham: Artemis House, 2012), 57.

(5) Mary Siisip Geniusz, Plants Have So Much To Give Us, All We Have To Do Is Ask: Anishinaabe Botanical Teachings, (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2015), 213.

(6) Geniusz, 214.

(7) Scott Cunningham, Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 2001), 63.

(8) Abascal, 65.