White Snake-root
Snakeroot has ‘fuzzy’ flower clusters similar to Boneset to which it is related.
Snakeroot – Eupatorium rugosum
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This is a close relative to Joe-Pye-Weed, Boneset and Thoroughworts – all are Eupatoriums and members of the larger Daisy Family.
White Snake-root is widely distributed across the country and found in thickets and open areas in rich woodlands. Average height of the plants is about 3 feet and the heart shaped toothed leaves are a good clue to it’s identity. A much closer look will revel tiny flowers with details almost too small to see with the naked eye. |
This is a deadly beauty. The plant is poisonous and the source of Milk Sickness that causes weakness and nausea. When dairy cows eat the plant the toxins are passed through to the milk and passed along to anyone drinking it. Drinking milk tainted this way can cause death.
Gone to Seed
Seeds are tiny too. They’re designed to disperse on the wind. A few caught in a spider’s web didn’t catch a breeze.
Native Americans used the root to prepare a medicinal tea. Snake bites were treated with a poultice and smoke from burning the plant was used to revive the unconscious.
… and now for something a little friendlier
click for desktop background version
I still don’t know why they’re called Garter Snakes. I can’t imagine any woman holding up her stockings with a pair of these. One maybe – at a wedding.
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September 27th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Very pretty flowers. White flowers are my favorite. I wonder if this would grow in the Deep South?
Jan
Always Growing
September 27th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
In the beginning, I was going to say that I wanted it in my garden. Then, I read more and started to doubt. I feel sorry for a lost cow which can visit my garden one day. We need to reseach the origins of that snake’s name, it’s intriguing!
Thank you for your comment on my thank you post! Nothing can beat your
Hypno-frog! It got me.
September 27th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
And the hypno-snake! Never seen a daisy family flower quite like that.
September 27th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Great pictures(-:
The snake at a wedding would be quite interesting…(-;
September 27th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Very pretty flowers, if without the presence of the snake.
I hate snake.
September 27th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Is snakeroot the same as bugband and/or black cohosh? I keep seeing the names interchanged, on various sites I’ve visited. I just found a bugbane plant in my garden…it appeared all by itself, with no planting from me. I did a recent post on it, as well. Your post just caught my eye;-)
September 27th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
I saw a plant yesterday that looked very similar to this. For some odd reason I didn’t end up taking a picture of it. I’ll have to go back and get one so I can compare it.
September 27th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Beautiful shot of the Garter Snake. Definitely friendlier than the Snakeweed.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:55 am
Dear Mr. WiseA**
I had no idea about that milk sickness thing .. has it happened lately or have you personally heard of it happening in your area ? That is amazing for it to pass through the milk !
Have you seen “Little Joe” pye weed ? I bought two this summer and I think it will be a lot more manageable than my BIG ones .. I do love it too though .. so many plants .. overload for the few brain cells I have left ? LOL
I don’t mind snakes… as long as they don’t CHASE me ?
wink wink !
September 28th, 2009 at 8:36 am
Aw, the garter snake is so cute! I used to see them in my yard when I first moved in, but not past the first year.
September 28th, 2009 at 9:57 am
These white flowers are a real beauty. Why is it that beautiful plants are poisonous too? Your pictures are so beautiful, even the snake look cute and adorable here! BTW, I’m really really scared of snakes.
September 28th, 2009 at 11:38 am
For what it’s worth, I think Garter Snakes were so named because folks thought they looked like garters that men used to hold up their stockings.
September 28th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Snakes… I will even pick one up. But then I have to wash my hands ten times to get rid of that smell… what is that anyways? I probably don’t want to know.
I will stay away from that plant. Thanks for the info. I learn more everyday when I visit this blog. Superb!
Rosey
September 28th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
The snakeroot is beautiful, but deadly. What a combination. I’ve never understood how garter snakes got their name until Leo’s post. I enjoyed your post.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
This has simply been spectacular this year in my garden. It plays so well with others-even those ole snakes:)
September 28th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Excellent photos of a terrific wildflower! My grandmother had some old garters and they had very similar length wise stripe! gail
September 28th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Hi Wiseacre, amazing macro shots of the plant, seeds and the spider. Our own newly renamed Ageratina altissima, what is with the taxonomists here lately, grows to ridiculous heights. Oh to have a three footer, but there is always that early summer pruning. I wonder about the poison bit, read about it in another blog post about this plant. Our town is the home to a very large dairy industry and there are small farms all over that supply the milk. This plant is everywhere. Could the pastuerizing process take care of that? I know the story came from long ago, before milk was treated in that way.
Frances
September 28th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
I’m not familiar with snakeroot, but boneset is a favorite of mine even if I don’t see it very often. Did not know about the milk sickness – makes me glad I don’t drink much milk anymore!
September 28th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Pastuerization doesn’t stop the effects of snakeroot poisoning. Mostly people are affected by drinking the milk of one cow that has ingested the plant. This rarely happens in these times. Milk from hundreds or thousands of animals is blended together by the time it is placed on store shelves. This causes the amount of poisoning, if a cow should eat the plant, to be so small it doesn’t harm anyone. Additionally more and more, cows never graze in pastures any more. Most large dairy farms keep the cattle penned from birth to death, feeding them everything they ever eat.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:59 am
Love that image of the seeds in the spider web. Cute hypno-snake!
September 29th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Beautiful shot of the garter snake!
September 29th, 2009 at 10:04 am
I’m glad my hubby doesn’t read blogs–if he saw the photo of the innocuous little garter snake he would invert. He has a phobia about snakes. I don’t share that phobia. Snakeroot grows around here some but I’ve never heard of milk sickness before. I always learn something new from you!
October 15th, 2009 at 11:30 am
So, do u mean that this name ‘snake-root’ comes from the native North Americans’ medicinal use of the root of this plant to snake bite? ( I thought the name may be related to the snake-like-shaped root of this plant. I haven’t dug one. No chances.^^;)
Is the medicinal use scientific?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Snakeroot
Wikipedia does not me the answers.
(I’m Korean living in Korea.^^; Looking for the origin of snake-root’s name.)
October 30th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
The little garter snake does actually remind me of men’s old fashioned garters, now that Leo mentions it. Nope, can’t see the ladies wearing ‘em, but it’s a good way to scare the guests away early from a wedding if you were looking to get rid of them
The Snakeroot sure looks pretty in macro. I hadn’t heard about the milk sickness before. We never had any experience with it in all the time we were milking cows and bringing milk straight from the tank to the house, as most dairy farmers do.
Congrats on your win for the best NY blog! Good show old chap
Did you ever get any snowdrops? I have extra bulbs if you’d like some.