The perennial Spotted Joe-Pye Weed also known as Gateway, Gravelroot, Purple Boneset or Queen of the Meadow. It is a member of the Aster family. It has been told its name is from an American Indian, Joe Pye, who used the plant to cure typhus fever.

Clusters of dull pink to pinkish-purple, flat-topped flowers grow 15 to 20 cm wide. They are fuzzy- appearing, lightly scented, cylindrical and formed of only disk flowers. Its leaves whorl around its purple-spotted stem in clusters of 3-7 lance-shaped and toothed leaves. They are 6-20 cm long, 2-10 cm wide with a single vein. This plant grows from 1 to 2 metres in height.

In the Algonquin Highlands from August to September, you will find Spotted Joe-Pye Weed in moist woodlands, wet meadows and edges of lakes and streams.