Israel wildflowers: Common Hemp-Agrimony

Eupatorium cannabinum, Common Hemp-Agrimony,
Hebrew: גדותן הביצות ,אבפטוריון הביצות, Arabic: اوبتريوم قنبي

Scientific name:   Eupatorium cannabinum L.
Common name:   Common Hemp-Agrimony
Hebrew name:   גדותן הביצות ,אבפטוריון הביצות
Arabic name:   اوبتريوم قنبي
Plant Family:   Compositae / Asteraceae, מורכבים


Life form:   Hemicryptophyte
Stems:   30-120 cm tal; single, branched distally; reddish stem covered with downy hair, woody below
Leaves:   Opposite, dissected once, dentate or serrate
Inflorescence:   Individual flowerheads 2-5 mm across, clustered into panicles c 15 cm across
Flowers:   Pink, purple, white flowerheads containing c 5-6 disk florets and no ray florets; a long white style protrudes from each of the tubular disk florets
Fruits / pods:   Achene c 2, 3 mm long, borne by a pappus with hairs 3-5 mm long; distributed by the wind
Flowering Period:   July, August, September, October
Habitat:   Humid habitats
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:   Euro-Siberian – Med – Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:   Perennating


Derivation of the botanical name:

Eupatorium, commemorating Mithridates Eupator, King of Pontus about 115BC who is said to have discovered an antidote to a commonly used poison in one of the species.

cannabinum, like Cannabis or hemp.

  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.