Milk-sick plant (_Eupatorium ageratoides_) is a closely related plant which causes in cattle a disease called “trembles.” The milk from affected cows will cause sickness and death among humans. The late-flowering thoroughwort (_Eupatorium serotinum_) is very abundant in river bottoms throughout the state. Yankee-weed (_Eupatorium compositifolium_) grows in big feathery clumps often 10 feet high. It is a pernicious weed in East Texas and soon covers cut-over pine lands. The dried flower-tops of several species were used by pioneers as fever medicines. One of these plants was called Joe-pye weed in honor of the Indian doctor, Joe Pye.
Blue Mist-Flower (_Conoclinium coelestinum_) is sometimes called ageratum and is used for a summer and fall border plant. It grows in moist, shaded places from Central Texas to New Jersey.
[Illustration: PRAIRIE BLAZING STAR DWARF GOLDENROD TALL GOLDENROD]
Prairie Blazing Star. Button Snakeroot (_Laciniaria punctata_) is sometimes called liatris from the scientific group to which these plants are sometimes referred. A similar prairie blazing star is called gay-feather. On the dry prairies in the western part of the state the blazing star has short stems and short spikes of flowers; but where moisture is more abundant, the plants are one to two feet high. The plant does well in cultivation and is easily grown from the seed. It ranges from Southern Canada to Texas and New Mexico.
The stems are closely covered with the narrow leaves, which are marked with minute glandular dots. The spikes are densely covered with long, narrow heads of purple flowers. There are only a few star-shaped tubular flowers in a head. The seeds are widely scattered by their crown of plumose bristles. The lovely spikes are often dried for winter bouquets.
Many eastern blazing stars are found in the woods of East Texas, where they make showy displays from July to October. They are called snakeroots from their reputed property of curing snake-bites. A tea made from the plant will cause profuse perspiration; the perspiration was probably responsible for the reported snake-bite cures. They are also called devil’s bit or devil’s bite, because of the bitten-off appearance of the rootstock. The rootstock was considered such a powerful remedy for human ills that the devil bit off a part for spite.