ToxicDo not eat
White snakeroot
Ageratina altissima
Shade wildflower that makes milk poisonous. Caused milk sickness on the Indiana frontier.
- Marks
- Opposite toothed leaves; fuzzy white heads; woodland shade
- Size
- 2–4 ft
- Habitat
- Woods, shaded fencerows, and overgrown lots around Dillsboro.
- Season
- August–October.
- Frequency
- common
Opposite, nettle-like leaves with toothed edges and three main veins. Clusters of fuzzy white flower heads in late summer. No thorns.
If this is the one
Do not let goats, cows, or sheep graze it. The toxin (tremetone) passes into milk and meat and historically killed settlers — including Abraham Lincoln’s mother, not far from this county. Boneset lives in wet sun and the stem pierces a joined leaf pair. This plant does not.
Lookalikes
Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum
Wet-ground white flower plate. The stem grows through the joined leaf pair. Not white snakeroot.
CautionNot food