• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Adirondacks & NNY
  • Capital-Saratoga
  • Mohawk Valley
  • Hudson Valley & Catskills
  • NYC & Long Island
  • Western NY
  • History
  • Nature & Environment
  • Arts & Culture
  • Outdoor Recreation
  • Food & Farms
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Submit
  • About
  • New Books
  • Events
  • Podcasts

NY Natives: Joseph Shauquethqueat’s Joe Pye Weed

June 25, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Joe Pye weed by Danielle BrigidaJune 22-28 is National Pollinator Week and one of New York State’s important pollinator friendly species is Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium spp.), a native essential for any garden seeking to attract and help pollinators.

According to legend, Joe Pye was a Native American herbalist who used local plants to cure a variety of illnesses including typhoid fever. For years, it was unknown if Joe Pye was a real person or a botanical myth, that is until research confirmed the plant’s name originated from the nickname of Joseph Shauquethqueat, a Mohican chief who lived in Massachusetts and New York in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

There are several Joe Pye Weed species. All have tall leafy stems with flat or rounded heads of small but bountiful shadowy pink flowers. Joe Pye Weed are an attractive garden choice not just because of their popularity with bees and butterflies, but also because of their hardiness.

These tough perennial flowers can withstand a wide range of conditions including high summer temperatures and a lack of water. In ideal conditions, they do prefer slightly moist soils and in the wild they can often be found growing in wetlands. The flowers bloom in late summer when many other flowers begin to wane.

Celebrate National Pollinator Week by adding some native plants to your backyard or container garden. A list of native suggestions can be found on DEC’s website.

Photo of Joe Pye Weed by Danielle Brigida, Flickr.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: bees, butterflies, gardening, Indigenous History, Medical History, Native American History, Native Plants, nature, pollinators, Wildlife

About Editorial Staff

Stories written under the Editorial Staff byline are drawn from press releases and other notices. Submit your news to New York Almanack here.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Support Our 2022 Fundraising

Subscribe to New York Almanack

Subscribe! Follow the New York Almanack each day via E-mail, RSS, Twitter or Facebook updates.

Recent Comments

  • Bob Meyer on Poetry: Cabin Pantry Discovery
  • Raphael Riljk on The Sinking of the S.S. Normandie at NYC’s Pier 88
  • Christian on Orange County Man Ticketed After Killing Rattlesnake
  • ABSS314 on Orange County Man Ticketed After Killing Rattlesnake
  • Evan Barnett on Catskills Resort History: The Beginning of the End
  • Evan Barnett on Catskills Resort History: The Beginning of the End
  • Eva Barnett on Catskills Resort History: The Beginning of the End
  • ARNOLD on Catskills Resort History: The Beginning of the End
  • Kim Campbell on Civil War Albany Rises To Action
  • Dave Waite on Alfred Billings Street: Albany’s 19th Century State Poet

Recent New York Books

The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton
vintage babes of broadway book
Mission Begin With Blood
Special Delivery book
killing time in the catskills
the soft city book
occupied america
stewards of the water
off the northway

Secondary Sidebar

preservation league
Protect the Adirondacks Hiking Guide