Consider-the-Lilies Web Gallery
Hyssop Boneset
A member of the Aster family, this erect, native wildflower was sought out by early settlers, along with other Eupatoriums, as a medicinal herb.
Also known as Hyssop-leaved Thoroughwort, Eupatorium hyssopifolium, in particular, is notable for the characteristic placement of its spiky leaves.
They appear to pierce the stem, entering from one side and exiting the other.
(Other members of the large and varied Aster family on display in the Gallery are Chamomile, Chicory, Dandelion, and Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, as well as several varieties bearing the family name, Aster.)
Colonial settlers relying on European folk medicine lore sometimes saw the shape, foliage and flowering of native North American plants as a sign of their role in herbal medicine.
For Hyssop Boneset, this apparent perforation of the stem by the sharp, pointed foliage was interpreted as a "sign" that this flowering herb would aid in the knitting of broken bones.
(Here is an excellent discussion of the 17th century Doctrine of Signatures that underlies this belief.)
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