Joe Pye Weed - Eutrochium maculatum
Joe Pye Weed, Eupatorium or Eutrochium perfoliatum, purpureum, maculatum and more, was known to indigenous people in the Americas as a treatment for colds, bladder infection, fevers, chills, pain after childbirth, diarrhea, liver problems, and kidney stones. It is commonly called gravel root since the roots are used for kidney stones.
It was traditionally used for typhus, and typhoid, which are both bacterial infections. A study shows it to be active against Proteus spp., Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus spp., Bacillus subtilis, B. thurengiensis, B. cereus, Enterobacter aerogenes, Salmonella paratyphi, Staplococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis, Peudomonas aeruginosa, E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus spp., Citrobacter frundii, Proteus spp., B. subtilis, B. thurengiensis, Enterobacter aerogenes, Salmonella spp. and S. paratyphi.1 S. Paratyphi is the bacteria responsible for typhoid infections.
I have not found a study showing it effective for the typhus bacteria but there is plenty of anecdotal and written history attesting to its use among indigenous people of North America and among enslaved peoples in the American South.
These days it is used primarily for kidney and bladder problems. It is active against E. coli, which is responsible for the majority of UTIs.
There are several species that all go by the common name of Joe Pye weed and are similarly useful. The Latin names have all been repeatedly changed between genus Eupatorium, Eutrochium, and Eupatoriadelphus. In addition, the various plants are all extremely similar and confusing to tell apart. But for now, Eutrochium is the genus officially settled on although all three are in use. The ones I harvest the most of are Eutrochium maculatum, and Eutrochium purpureum.
1 Bhattarai, Nabin, and Geeta Shrestha. 2010. “Antibacterial and Antifungal Effect of Eupatorium adenophorum Spreng Against Bacterial and Fungal Isolates”. Nepal Journal of Science and Technology 10 (April):91-95. https://doi.org/10.3126/njst.v10i0.2834.