Herb library · Herb · Eutrochium purpureum (Eupatorium purpureum)
Gravel root (Joe Pye weed)
The root of a tall pink-flowered meadow plant of eastern North America, named for its old use to pass kidney "gravel." It has only been studied in the lab, never in people.
Traditional use
King's American Dispensatory records that the name Joe Pye weed was said to come from a Native man of that name in New England who used the plant to bring on sweating in fevers. Eclectic physicians used the root as a diuretic for urinary gravel and stones, and a 2001 lab paper calls it an "antirheumatic herbal drug."
What studies show
No studies in people of this herb on its own yet. What is known of it comes from the traditions that use it.
- Insufficient
Kidney stones, urinary complaints and joint pain: no studies in people were found. A compound from the root (cistifolin) blocked white blood cells from sticking in lab tests and reduced inflammation in animals, which does not show what the root does in a person.
Be careful of
Cautions
- NoteClose relatives in the same genus, including boneset, contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, compounds linked to liver disease in people; teas and tinctures of boneset carried them. Avoid long or repeated use of gravel root until it is shown to be free of them.
- ConditionKidney stones need a diagnosis. Fever with flank pain, blood in the urine or pain that will not settle needs urgent medical care.
- PregnancyNo safety information for pregnancy or breastfeeding was found in the sources used here. Given the alkaloid concern in related plants, do not use it then.
- Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.
From the old books
What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.
“Its trivial name, Joe Pye weed, is said to have become attached to it through an Indian of that name, who lived in New England, and employed it as a diaphoretic in low fevers.”
Sources
- Antiinflammatory activity of the antirheumatic herbal drug, gravel root (Eupatorium purpureum): further biological activities and constituents (Phytother Res, 2001) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Potentially toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in Eupatorium perfoliatum and three related species. Implications for herbal use as boneset (Phytochem Anal, 2018) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.