Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured below?
The answer to last week’s mystery is late flowering thoroughwort, Eupatorium serotinum, pictured below:
Late flowering thoroughwort, also called tall boneset and late flowering boneset, is a native herbaceous perennial that flowers from August-October.
Bees, wasps, and butterflies find this plant irresistible! Thoroughwort offers both pollen and nectar late in the season. This timing coincides with the migration of monarch butterflies, providing important fuel for their long flights.
This showy perennial wildflower grows 4-5 feet tall, the perfect height for viewing the varied insect life it attracts. The white flower clusters have a pleasant fragrance. Thoroughwort has a time-release approach to flowering. As some clusters of flowers are fading, new ones are opening.
A couple benefits to thoroughwort are that the leaves are too bitter for most browsing mammals, and this plant requires no maintenance.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.