White Snakeroot

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White Snakeroot

White Snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum).

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Tribe:	Eupatorieae
Genus:	Ageratina
Species:	A. altissima

Binomial name

Ageratina altissima
(L.) King & H.E.Robins.

Synonyms

Eupatorium altisssimum L.
Eupatorium rugosum Houttuyn.

White Snakeroot (Ageratina altissima), also known as White Sanicle or Tall Boneset, is a poisonous perennial herb in the family Asteraceae, native to eastern North America.

Plants are upright or sometimes ascending and grow up to 1.5 meters tall producing multi stemmed clumps, they are found in woods and brush thickets were they bloom mid to late summer or fall. The flowers are a clean white color and after blooming small seeds with fluffy white tails are released to blow in the wind. Plants can be weedy in shady landscapes and in hedgerows, they are adaptive to different growing conditions and can be found in open shady areas with bare ground. There are two different varieties that differ in the length of the flower phyllaries and shape of the apices.

[edit] Toxicity

White Snakeroot contains the toxin tremetol and when consumed by cattle the meat and milk become contaminated. When milk or meat from cattle feeding on White Snakeroot is consumed by humans, the poison is passed onto humans and can result in tremetol poisoning called milk sickness (notably the cause of death of Nancy Hanks, mother of Abraham Lincoln). It is also poisonous to horses, goats, and sheep. Signs of poisoning in these animals include depression and lethargy, hind feet placed close together (horses, goats, cattle) or held far apart (sheep), nasal discharge, excessive salivation, arched body posture, and rapid or difficult breathing.