Characteristics:
Small White Snakeroot features small fluffy bright white flowers (composites with rays absent) arranged in loose, flattened clusters (corymbs to 3-4” across) atop smooth stems typically rising 2 - 3’ tall. Blooms from late summer to frost. This is a somewhat weedy perennial that spreads primarily by self-seeding. Long-stalked, sharp-toothed, taper-pointed, lance-shaped to elliptic-oval, nettle-like, dark green leaves (3-6” long) are paired along the stems. Cattle that graze on plants in the genus Ageratina may concentrate some of the plant’s toxins in their milk, rendering it unsafe to drink.
Cultivation
Easily grown in rocky or gravelly soils in full sun to part shade. Prefers part shade. Does very well in dryish soils. Grows readily from seed.
Etymology:
Ageratina is derived from the Greek meaning 'never-aging', in reference to the flowers keeping their color for a long time. This name was used by the 1st Century Greek physician and botanist Dioscorides for a number of different plants.
The common name Snakeroot comes from the traditional medical use of a poultice of the root to treat snakebites.
Habitat:
Blue Ridge and Piedmont Woodlands, Oak-Hickory Forest clearings
Ageratina aromatica var. aromatica
Small White Snakeroot
Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Family: Asteraceae
Height: 2 to 3 ft
Spread: .5 to 1 ft
Bloom: White, July to November
Sun: Part Shade
Water: Dry
Tolerates: deer, drought, erosion, dry soil, shallow-rocky soil