Summary ⁷

Brickellia eupatorioides (false boneset) is a native, perennial, flowering species from North America. False boneset can be found in Mexico and in all areas of the United States except on the West Coast and New England.

Botanical Information ⁸

False boneset is native to the bosque ecosystem. This plant belongs to the aster family (Asteraceae) and the scientific name is Brickellia eupatorioides. False boneset can grow 1 to 3.5 feet tall with leaves that can be 4 inches long and 1.5 inches wide. The florets are creamy white to pale yellow color and have 7 to 21 florets for each flower-head. After flowering, false boneset creates hairy seed tufts that are spread by the wind. The stems are rounded and covered in white hairs.

Ecological Information ⁸

False boneset grows in dry, sandy, clay soil in full sun like prairies, bluffs, and open woodlands. They like to grow sporadically rather than in colonies. The false boneset has trouble competing with taller, more aggressive forbs, (forbs are flowering plants that are not a grass) and grasses in rich, wet soil. Caterpillars, grasshoppers, and moths like to eat false boneset for their food.

Ethnobotanical Information ⁹

The Ramah Navajo Chapter of the Navajo Nation has used false boneset as a decoction for coughs and old injuries according to research found in the Native American Ethnobotany Database. (Note: Ethnobotanical reports often lack important contextual information and relevant traditional ecological knowledge.)

References ¹⁰

Brickellia eupatorioides. (2021, March 20). In Wikipedia. Retrieved July 10, 2021, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brickellia_eupatorioides

Hilty, J. (n.d). False Boneset. Illinois Wildflowers. Retrieved July 10, 2021, from
https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/fs_bonesetx.htm

Native American Ethnobotany Database. (n.d.). Asteraceae Brickellia eupatorioides var. eupatorioides.
Retrieved July 10, 2021, from http://naeb.brit.org/uses/species/190/.

United States Department of Agriculture. (2014). Brickellia eupatorioides (L.) Shinners. In
PLANTS Database. Retrieved July 10, 2021, from
https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=BREU

About the Author ¹¹

Student author(s)*: Natalie and Chloe (age 12) from South Valley Academy

*The entries in this field guide have been edited by Yerba Mansa Project staff to ensure that they contain quality, fact-checked content and standardized formatting. https://yerbamansaproject.org/

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Jerry Oldenettel, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/jroldenettel/33356766428/
2. (c) Peter Gorman, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/52421717@N00/14930463496/
3. (c) Peter Gorman, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/52421717@N00/3838899368
4. (c) Joshua Mayer, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/wackybadger/25873768460/
5. (c) Jerry Oldenettel, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/jroldenettel/8037665419/
6. (c) Jerry Oldenettel, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/jroldenettel/46508971934/
7. Adapted by smiller33 from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brickellia_eupatorioides
8. Adapted by smiller33 from a work by (c) kristen_himm, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
9. Adapted by albuquerqueherbalism from a work by (c) smiller33, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
10. Adapted by Kiley Spurlock from a work by (c) caseynm, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
11. Adapted by albuquerqueherbalism from a work by (c) caseynm, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• World Flora Online

Range Map

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