This upright perennial herb blooms from June into September with flat-headed clusters of white flower heads up to 4 feet tall. The pure-white “pearls” have a mildly pleasant scent and attract plenty of pollinators. The highly aromatic leaves have a bitter taste and sandpapery texture that tends to repel deer and other mammalian herbivores. The plant is also highly resistant to insects and diseases. It grows best when it receives at least six hours of direct sun. Well-drained, loamy soils are preferable, but moist to slightly dry conditions and sandy to rocky soils are tolerated. Wetter soils may shorten the lifespan of the plant. It produces a deep taproot and spreads horizontally through short rhizomes. This is a tough plant that does well in areas other wildflowers might not survive.
 
Wild feverfew is a member of the Daisy family and is one of 16 species found in the eastern US to Wisconsin and Arkansas. It's the most widely distributed species in North America and tends to be the only one used in gardens. 
 
Wild feverfew is also known as wild quinine, a name that may have originated from an anticipated shortage of quinine during World War I. Supposedly, people stockpiled the leaves of wild feverfew in case they ran out of quinine, which was extracted from the bark of a tropical tree. The need for the leaves never materialized, but the name "wild quinine" remained. The genus name comes from the Greek word meaning "virgin" in reference to the fertile ray florets and infertile disk florets of species in this genus. Integrifolium means "with entire or uncut leaves."
 
Native habitats include dry forest glades, rocky outcrops, and open praries. Use in wildflower borders, native prairies, front of a west-facing woodlot, cottage gardens, and naturalized areas.
 
Plant Characteristics:
Grows to 2-4’ tall and about as wide. 
 
Thrives in full sun (needs at least 6 hours sunlight); tolerates a little shade.
 
Moist, fertile, well-drained soils are preferred; tolerates clay, sandy, or rocky soils with moist to slightly dry conditions.
 
Flower head is composed of short disk flowers with very few small, ray flowers produced in each head.
 
Wildlife Value:
Host plant for at least 15 species of Lepidoptera larvae. Attracts honey and native bees, birds, moths, wasps, flies, beetles, and plant bugs. Resistant to deer.
 
Medicinal, Edible, and Other Uses:
Native Americans used the tannin-laden leaves for medicinal and veterinary purposes. The roots were made into a tea to treat dysentery. The Catawba used a poultice to treat burns. The ashes were applied to horses with "sore backs."  Because of its bitter taste, early Europeans used the plant to treat various internal ailments.
 
Resources:
Ohio State University-Marion: https://u.osu.edu/marionprairie/parthenium-integrifolium/
 
City of Troy, Ohio: https://troyohio.gov/785/Plants-of-the-Monarch-Habitat
 
University of Arkansas: https://www.uaex.uada.edu/yard-garden/resource-library/plant-week/american_feverfew-7-25-14.aspx
 
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenium_integrifolium