JOE-PYE WEED IS BLOOMING

JOE-PYE WEED ALONG TURNER ROAD...

...LARGE, BEAUTIFUL COMPOUND FLOWER HEADS

Monday, 8:30 AM.  60 degrees F, wind S, light.  The sky is overcast and it rained most of the night, leaving .6" of rain in the gage.  It is still misting lightly, the humidity is 94% and the barometer is still trending down, presently at 29.78".  It looks like we are in for a couple of days of wet weather.  That's fine, as it had become quite dry and I had begun to do some serious watering.  If I had also washed the car we would have had a monsoon.
   I saw, close up but very fleetingly, what was either an uncommon humming bird or more likely an unusual hawk-moth.  It was black with bright red wing markings, and about 2.5"-3" in length.  If anyone has any ideas as to what it might have been, please let me know.
 Joe-Pye weed, also known as gravel root, Eupatorium maculatum, in the  sun flower family, the Compositae, is just beginning to bloom.  The flowers are about on time, and they will last several weeks. There is a lot of Joe-Pye weed in our roadside ditches and wet meadows. It is a tall (up to 4' and more in height) handsome plant with whorled leaves and large blooms, and should be used more in the garden, but it needs a wet spot. 
   It has a long tradition in both Native American and Western herbal medicine as a diuretic for the treatment of kidney ailments, gout, rheumatism and respiratory complaints.  We can attest to a tea made of its dried roots being very efficacious in breaking up kidney stones (thus the common name, gravel root).  But once again, do not use any plant internally without knowing exactly what you are using and doing.
   The plant is named after a legendary 18th or 19th Century American Indian healer, Joe Pye.