Eutrochium dubium, coastal plain Joe-pye weed
The Eutrochium species called Joe-Pye-weed were named for the Mohican sachem Joseph Shauquethqueat, who was also known, especially among his white neighbors, as Joe Pye.—R. B. Pearce & J. S. Pringle, in The Great Lakes Botanist, 2017
Purple parasols, silk tasseled in white,
vanilla ambrosia on burgundy stems,
cowlicks of spritely whirls—whorls delight—
lavender, lilac, bumblebee gems.
A pithy bee nursery of hollow stalks
for certain Ceratina—leaf cutter or cuckoo,
flowers swollen with sweet pollen cakes,
enough to collect for humble craft, too.
Known by Jopi, Zhopai, the healer,
this is no weed, no bother, no pest—
nature’s pure cure for typhoid fever
with root-tea, tinctures, salves, and rest.
Attracting hummingbirds, moths, butterflies and bees,
summer queen of the meadow, trumpets through fall.
Borderless states, no lines between countries—
migrants and natives, she welcomes them all.
