boneset

American  

[bohn-set] / ˈboʊnˌsɛt /

noun

1. any composite plant of the genus Eupatorium, especially E. perfoliatum, of North America, having white flowers in a flat-topped cluster.

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boneset British  

/ ˈbəʊnˌsɛt /

noun

1. Also called: agueweed.   feverwort.   thoroughwort.  any of various North American plants of the genus Eupatorium , esp E. perfoliatum , which has flat clusters of small white flowers: family Asteraceae (composites)

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Etymology

Origin of boneset

1810–20, bone ( def. ) + set (v.), so named (by hyperbole) because supposed to have healing properties

Example Sentences

Nonetheless, a demand persists for senna, henna, pennyroyal, hops, boneset, camomile, sage, tansy, flaxseed, rhubarb, ginger root, fennel seed, aniseed, saffron, viburnum.

From Time Magazine Archive

“Broken, by God’s whiskers. Broken,” she moaned, feeling her ankle, and she set about telling Beetle how to pack the boneset herbs and wrap the rags about the limb.

From "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman

Now, she loved Carolyn May very much, even if she could not bring herself to the point of showing her affection before others; but boneset tea is an awful dose!

From Carolyn of the Corners by Endicott, Ruth Belmore

There was boneset tea and willow tea and shuck tea and cottonseed tea for chills and fever and Jerusalum Oak for worms.

From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves: Volume XVI, Texas Narratives, Part 4 by United States. Work Projects Administration

She's took camomile and orange-peel, and snake-root and boneset, and dash-root and dandelion—and there hain't nothin' done her no good.

From The Pearl of Orr's Island A Story of the Coast of Maine by Stowe, Harriet Beecher