Eupatorium cannabinum, commonly known as hemp-agrimony,["Botanica. The Illustrated AZ of over 10000 garden plants and how to cultivate them", p 359. Könemann, 2004. ] and grows in damp to wet habitats (also rarely on dry soils), usually in lowlands but known up to 410 m altitude in Britain.[ Flora of China, Eupatorium cannabinum Linnaeus, 1753. 大麻叶泽兰 da ma ye ze lan ] the United States and Canada.[ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map] It is extremely attractive to butterflies, much like buddleia.[ Wildlife Trusts - Hemp Agrimony]
If the genus Eupatorium is defined in a restricted sense (about 42 species), E. cannabinum is the only species of that genus native to Europe, with the remainder in Asia or North America.
Description
Eupatorium cannabinum is a perennial herb up to tall forming extensive
clonal colony, with the reddish stems covered in small hairs.
The leaves are opposite, deeply 3-lobed, occasionally 5-lobed, and have serrated margins.
It is
dioecious, with
of
mauve flower heads which are pollinated by insects from July to early September. The flowers are visited by many types of insects, and have a generalised pollination syndrome.
The
flower heads are composed of dense clusters of 2–5 mm long florets of fluffy appearance, and can be pink or purple, or rarely whitish.
The fruit is an
achene about 2 or 3 mm long, borne by a pappus with hairs 3 to 5 mm long, which is distributed by the wind. The plant over-winters as a
hemicryptophyte.
[
]
Taxonomy
Two subspecies are accepted by some authorities,
-
Eupatorium cannabinum L. subsp. cannabinum - most of species range
-
Eupatorium cannabinum L. subsp. corsicum (Req. ex Loisel.) P.Fourn. - Corsica, Sardinia, Basilicata, Apulia
Toxicity
Eupatorium cannabinum contains tumorigenic pyrrolizidine alkaloids.
Folk medicine
E. cannabinum, known locally by the Nepali language names of Banmara and Kalijhar, is used as a Antihemorrhagic in the folk medicine of the Indian state of Sikkim in the Eastern Himalayas (to which the plant is not native, but an introduction).[Rai, Lalitkumar and Sharma, Eklabyar Medicinal Plants of the Sikkim Himalaya: Status, Uses and Potential, pub. Govind Ballabh Pant Inst. Bishen Singh & Mahendra Pal Singh 1994 page 39.]The leaves and tender stems are crushed fresh and the juice is applied to Wound and . Sometimes, when the wound is large, the squeezed remains of the plant are placed over the wound in the form of a poultice. The bleeding stops immediately and the wound is protected from infection.
==Gallery==
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