have i ever introduced you to Joseph Pye?

Merriam-Webster defines a weed as “a plant that is not valued where it is growing.” Ralph Waldo Emerson once said a weed is just “a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” i like Emerson’s definition better.

joe-pye weed (Eutrochium/Eupatorium)

** rumor has it, that his plant is named after a Mohican chief and healer named Schauquethqueat who lived in the mission town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts from c. 1740 to c. 1785 and who took as his Christian name, Joseph Pye. he was famous for using the plant to treat typhoid fever in colonial settlers. his name is said to come from “jopai,” the native american word for typhoid.