joe-pye weed

[joh-pahy weed]

noun

1. Also called purple boneset. a tall composite weed, Eupatorium purpureum, of North America, having clusters of pinkish or purple flowers.

2. Also called spotted joe-pye weed. a tall composite weed, Eupatorium maculatum, of North America, having clusters of pinkish or purple flowers and stems that are often spotted with purple.

joe-pye weed

/ ˈdʒəʊˈpaɪ /

noun

1. any of several North American plants of the genus Eupatorium, esp E. purpureum, having pale purplish clusters of flower heads lacking rays: family Asteraceae (composites)

Word History and Origins

Origin of joe-pye weed¹

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20; origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of joe-pye weed¹

C19: of unknown origin

Example Sentences

Around this time on a recent Thursday, a dozen people clustered on one side of the falls, along two ledges that were blanketed in snakeroot, yellow jewelweed, spotted Joe-Pye weed and pale swallowwort.

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"Sure," he says, "If you put Joe-Pye weed in a planter, butterflies will come. And potted milkweed or fall asters will attract native bees. So you can turn things around in your own little ecosystem — an individual can make a difference."

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They grow assorted milkweeds, asters, elderberry, mountain mint, joe-pye weed, goldenrods, white snakeroot and ironweed.

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The tatarian aster, by contrast, is upright to six feet and expands into large clumps in time, much as Joe-Pye weed.

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At the grand neoclassical estate in Scotland named Hopetoun House, the owner has turned the old walled vegetable garden into a frothy incoming tide of perennials and grasses, including such beauties as Mexican feather grass, astilbes, echinops, echinaceas and joe-pye weed.

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