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Eutrochium is a North American genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. They are commonly referred to as Joe-Pye weeds. They are native to the United States and Canada, and have non-dissected foliage and pigmented flowers. The genus includes all the purple-flowering North American species of the genus Eupatorium as traditionally defined, (2006): Molecular confirmation of the hybrid origin of Eupatorium godfreyanum (Asteraceae). Am. J. Bot. 93(2): 319-325. PDf fulltext and most are grown as , particularly in Europe and North America.
In 1987, Robinson and King reincluded the genus Eupatoriadelphus in Eupatorium, while recognizing this former genus as being the same group of plants as Rafinesque's Eutrochium.Robert Merrill King and Harold Robinson. The Genera of the Eupatorieae (Asteraceae). Missouri Botanical Garden, 1987. p. 65. This decision was also widely accepted.Eric E. Lamont. Taxonomy of Eupatorium Section Verticillata (Asteraceae). New York Botanical Garden, 1995.
Based on chloroplast DNA analysis published by Edward E, Schilling et al. in 1999,Edward E. Schilling, Jose L. Panero and Patricia B. Cox. "Chloroplast DNA restriction site data support a narrowed interpretation of Eupatorium (Asteraceae)." Plant Systematics and Evolution. 219(3/4):221 (January 1999). the Joe Pye weeds were again separated into their own genus, Eutrochium,Gregory J Schmidt and Edward E Schilling. "Phylogeny and biogeography of Eupatorium (Asteraceae: Eupatorieae) based on nuclear ITS sequence data." American Journal of Botany. 87(5): 716. (May 2000). as Eutrochium is the senior synonym of Eupatoriadelphus. (2004): New combinations in Eutrochium, an earlier name for Eupatoriadelphus. Sida 21: 901-902. This usage quickly became formalized.
Eupatorium in the revised sense (about 42 species of white-flowered plants from the temperate Northern Hemisphere) is apparently a close relative of Eutrochium. In addition to flower color, another difference between Eutrochium and Eupatorium is that the former has mostly leaves and the latter mostly opposite ones. Eupatorium and Eutrochium are both placed in the subtribe Eupatoriinae, but South American plants which have sometimes been placed in that subtribe, such as Stomatanthes, seem to belong elsewhere in the tribe Eupatorieae.
Joe Pye weeds have traditionally been ascribed with medicinal powers. A peer-reviewed study suggests that Joe Pye was a Mohican sachem named Schauquethqueat who lived in the mission town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts from 1740 to c. 1785 and who took as his Christian name, Joseph Pye. (2017). Joe Pye, Joe Pye’s Law, and Joe-Pye-Weed: The History and Eponymy of the Common Name Joe-Pye-Weed for Eutrochium Species ( Asteraceae),The Great Lakes Botanist, 56(3-4):177-200. Fulltext Sources (although without citation) claim the plant was used to treat typhus outbreaks (1988). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. and for the treatment of kidney stones and other urinary tract ailments. (2000). Appalachian Wildflowers. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press.
Uses
All of the Joe Pye weed species except E. steelei are widely cultivated as ornamental landscape plants.Richard Hawke. "A Comparative Study of Joe-Pye Weeds ( Eutrochium spp.) and Their Relatives." Plant Evaluation Notes. Chicago Botanic Garden. 37 (2014). Cultivars have been developed for a more compact habit (e.g. E. dubium ‘Little Joe’, E. dubium ‘Baby Joe’, E. maculatum ‘Little Red’) and varied flower color.
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