Eupatorium cannabinum, commonly known as hemp-agrimony,[2] or holy rope,[3] is a
herbaceous plant in the family
Asteraceae. It is a robust
perennial native to Europe, NW. Africa, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, the Caucasus and Central Asia.[4][3][5] It is cultivated as an ornamental and occasionally found as a garden escape in scattered locations in China,[6] the United States and Canada.[7][8] It is extremely attractive to
butterflies, much like
buddleia.[9]
If the genus Eupatorium is defined in a restricted sense (about 42 species), E. cannabinum is the only species of that genus native to Europe (with the remainder in Asia or North America).[10]
Description
Eupatorium cannabinum is a perennial herb up to 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) tall or more and 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) wide.[5] The plant has a dark red or purplish stem, covered in small hairs. It lives in moist low-lying areas in
temperateEurasia. It is
dioecious, with
racemes of
mauveflower heads which are pollinated by insects from July to early September. The flowers are visited by many types of insects, and can be characterized by a generalized
pollination syndrome.[11] The
flower heads are tiny, fluffy and can be pale dusty pink or whitish.[5] The fruit is an
achene about 2 or 3 mm long, borne by a
pappus with hairs 3 to 5 mm long, which is distributed by the wind. The plant over-winters as a
hemicryptophyte.[10]
Eupatorium cannabinum is used in the European
traditional medicine as anti-inflammatory agent for respiratory tract diseases, and several of its
sesquiterpene lactone constituents were identified to have anti-inflammatory effect in isolated human neutrophils, with the anti-inflammatory action of the sesquiterpene lactone eupatoriopicrin being verified also in mouse peritonitis model.[14]
The leaves and tender stems are crushed fresh and the juice is applied to
cuts and
bruises. Sometimes, when the wound is large, the squeezed remains of the plant are placed over the wound in the form of a
poultice. The
bleeding stops immediately and the wound is protected from
infection. [15]
Subspecies
Eupatorium cannabinum L. subsp. cannabinum - most of species range
Eupatorium cannabinum L. subsp. corsicum (Req. ex Loisel.) P.Fourn. - Corsica, Sardinia, Basilicata, Apulia
^Fu, P.P., Yang, Y.C., Xia, Q., Chou, M.C., Cui, Y.Y., Lin G., "Pyrrolizidine alkaloids-tumorigenic components in Chinese herbal medicines and dietary supplements", Journal of Food and Drug Analysis, Vol. 10, No. 4, 2002, pp. 198-211
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