By PAUL HETZLER

In recent days our North Country pharmacy has come into its own, really blossomed.

Just to clarify, that’s not a financial report, it’s a botanical one. I have no idea how the drugstore business is faring, but three of our most storied medicinal herbs are flowering right now, and they’re a sight to behold.

The three show-off healing plants are: purple-flowering Joe-Pye weed, the doctor; his nurse, boneset, with her crisp white cap; and their immigrant neighbor, valerian, also bearing white.

One of the reasons they’re a visual treat is that they often grow in vast swaths in wet areas. (Since that’s every place this year, I should say areas that are typically wet.) Sometimes they co-mingle, and other times you’ll drive past an undulating wave of pale purple Joe-Pye weed, followed by one of bright white boneset. I suggest doing an image search of these plants so you’ll know what to look for.

Tradition has it that Joe Pye was a Native American who used this plant to heal New Englanders of typhus. The plant was officially recognized by the medical community as a medicine in the 1800s, and is still well respected today for its effectiveness. Its roots are used to treat a number of ailments, especially kidney and bladder stones, and for this reason some know it as gravel root.

“Nurse” boneset is a native plant, like her close relative to Joe-Pye weed, and is no less important as a medicinal herb. Though never sanctioned as a legitimate drug, boneset, which I always think of as Eupatorium perfoliatum (true story, sadly) was reportedly used widely in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was taken to reduce fever and congestion, and even today some people drink tea made from its leaves when they have a cold or the flu.

Valerian root, a common ingredient in herbal supplements intended to help relieve anxiety and sleeplessness, has been used throughout Europe and Asia for at least a thousand years. It’s seldom sold as a bulk herb, though, because of its smell. Some compare its odor to stale perspiration, but I think that’s an unfair claim. It’s much worse than that. Valerian is very powerful, and should be used with caution, and never on a long-term basis.

While medicinal herbs can be beneficial, it’s essential to check with your doctor before taking any, and to only use them under the supervision of an experienced herbalist. Medicinal plants are exactly that, medicine, some much stronger than others. They have the potential to react with prescription drugs, and in rare cases can aggravate conditions such as glaucoma.

Whether or not you ever make use of these medicinal plants, they’re putting on a show right now, and I hope you enjoy the performance.

Paul Hetzler is a forester and a horticulture and natural resources educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County.