Eupatorium cannabinum Hemp-agrimony

A tall, hairy perennial herb usually found growing in moist or wet habitats such as tall-herb fen communities, marshes and along the edges of canals and other water courses, but it also occurs in drier habitats in woodland and in waste places. Novices in plant identification often find it a puzzling species and although it is a member of the dandelion and daisy family (Asteraceae), it looks quite unlike other more typical members. The leaves are divided into toothed segements and it produces dense trusses of flowers which can be whitish or pink in colour. It is very common and widespread throughout much of Britain but rarer and confined mainly to coastal regions in the north. It is very common in West Glamorgan. Plants contain a number of interesting bioactive phytochemical including some that exhibit cytotoxic, anti-inflamatory, immunological, anti-oxidant and insecticidal effects. Among these is a sequiterpene lactone called eupatoriopicrin which has been shown to have cytostatic effects on cancer cells; i.e. it slows or stops cell division and growth of tumour cells.

Native