Actaea racemosa L. 1753
Technical Description
Common Names:
Amerikanisches wanzenkraut
actee a grappes
baneberry
(black) bugbane
black cohosh
(black) snakeroot
bugwort
(cohosh) bugbane
fairy candles
(false) bugbane
herbe au punaise
macrotys
papoose root
rattlepod
rattleroot
rattle-snakeroot
rattletop (macrotys)
rattleweed
rattlewort
rheumatism weed
richweed
schwarze schlangenwurzel
squawroot
Genus: Actaea 1753 (approx. 14 species)
Family: Ranunculaceae (buttercup family)
Synonyms:
Cimicifuga serpentaria Pursh
Cimicifuga racemosa (L.) Nutt.
Botrophis serpentaria Raf.
Botrophis actaeoides Fisch. and C. A. Mey
Thalictroides racemosa (L.) Kuntze
Thalictroides racemosum Kuntze
Cimicifuga cordifolia Pursh
Cimicifuga racemosa var. cordifolia (Pursh) Gray
Actaea monogyma Walter
Relatives: E.g. columbine, goldenseal, larkspur
Duration:Perennial
Habit: Herb
Height: From three to nine feet when full grown (Hutchens 1991, Foster and Duke 2000), black cohosh can grow at a rate of 18 to 22 inches per month during the growing season.
Stems: Leafy, slender, erect and tall. Straight, single stems usually divide into three branches before reaching the leaflets (Harding 1972, Brown 1984, Cech 2002).
Actaea racemosa- Black Cohosh
Photographer: Calvin J. Hamilton
© 2003 Calvin J. Hamilton
2003/06/23
scienceviews.com/photo/browse/SIA0134.jpg |
Leaves: Irregular divided leaves with a terminal
3-lobed leaflet whose middle lobe is largest
(Hutchens 1991, Foster and Duke 2000). The ovate, acutely-pointed leaflets are sharply
toothed and average 3–10 cm in length
(Harding 1972, Brown 1984).
Actaea racemosa- Black Cohosh Flowers
Rural Action Stock Photo
Flowers: Small, ill-scented, cream to white
flowers, on one or more wand-like spikes that
grow from six inches to two feet long, bloom
from May to September. Conspicuous
stamens give the spike a feathery appearance.
Each flower possesses 4–5 sepals which fall off soon after the flower expands. The airy spikes account for the name “fairy candles”
(Gray 1950, Harding 1972, Brown 1984,
Hutchens 1991, Sturdivant and Blakeley 1999, Foster and Duke 2000, Das et al. 2001, Cech 2002).
Actaea racemosa- Black Cohosh seed pods
Rural Action stock photo
Fruit: 6–9 mm long, thick, leathery, ribbed,
dry fruit known as a follicle; the oval-shaped
fruit has a small beak at the end and contains numerous brown seeds lined up in two rows (Harding 1972, Brown 1984, Cech 2002).
Mature seeds, ready for harvest, make a
rattling sound when disturbed, accounting for
many of the plant’s common names. Although growers can manipulate it to propagate by root division, in nature it reproduces only by seed.
It can take up to 5 years for seedlings to start producing seeds, which have a low germination
rate (Cech 2002).
Roots: A light tan rhizome with thin rootlets
is formed and continues to develop for several
years until it reaches maturity and allows the
plant to flower. Due to the decay of older parts,
it often remains a more or less constant length of
3–4 cm, although much larger specimens have
been found. When the flowering stalk dies back
it leaves a hole in the skin of the rhizome, as do rootlets that have decayed. The scar of the
female stalk is larger than the male’s. The
rhizome, with its slight upward curve at the tip, resembles a stubby horn, and is the inspiration
for the name “false unicorn root.” It most often grows horizontally about an inch below the soil surface, but sometimes grows vertically.
(Silliman 1957, Cech 2002, Allard 2003).
Taste: Bitter, pungent, astringent (Harding 1972, Bisset 2004)
Odor: Characteristic and disagreeable (Harding 1972, Bisset 2004)
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. Illustrated flora of the northern states and Canada. Vol. 2: 91. |
Pollination: Butterflies and hummingbirds visit the flowers. Gnats and flies are drawn to the foetid aroma
Habitat: Prefers rich, moist, deciduous woods but will also grow well in open, sunny areas (Harding 1972, Brown 1984, Das et al. 2001). Cech (2002) states that it will not self-seed in full sunlight.
Associations: Black cohosh is often found in close proximity to e.g. tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), paw paw (Asimina triloba), spicebush (Lindera benzoin), bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), goldenseal (Hepatica canadensis), mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), and ginseng (Panax quinquefolium; Cech 2002).
Native Range: From Maine following the Allegheny Mountains to Georgia, west to Missouri, Indiana, and Ontario, northern Oregon, and Washington. Appalachia seems to be the center of its distribution, and it is most abundant in the Ohio Valley. In North Carolina it can be found at elevations up to 4,000 feet. Black cohosh occurring in Maine and Vermont probably escaped cultivation (Harding 1972, Foster and Duke 2000, Das et al. 2001, USDA 2006).
Pests/diseases: Common diseases found on black cohosh consist of leaf spots, including Alternaria, and root rots, including Rhizoctonia. Rhizoctonia solani caused damping off in young emerging seedlings of black cohosh in a 2003 study done by R. D. Reeleder, Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology. Two other leaf spots mentioned in Index of Plant Diseases in the United States are Ascochtya actaeae and Ectostroma applatum. Common insects that attack black cohosh include cutworms and blister beetles. Other pests that forage on black cohosh include deer, opossum, rabbits, slugs, and snails.
Other threats: As with many of our useful native woodland plants, habitat degradation, and increased utilization are combining to speed its disappearance from its natural habitat (Das et al. 2001).
Conservation status: Listed as endangered in Illinois and Massachusetts (USDA 2006). Biological trade and status of black cohosh is being considered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in order to determine if the species meets criteria for listing in CITES Appendix II (species that are not threatened with extinction but may become so if international trade is not controlled; Persons and Davis 2005).
History/culture: Actaea racemosa, or black cohosh, is an Appalachian native with a long history of use in the region, and whose reputation has spread far and wide. The many names attached to it is an indication of its importance to people who have used it over the centuries. Besides its use to treat a variety of medical conditions (described in the medical properties section), it enjoys popularity as an attractive garden perennial, mainly in England and continental Europe, and also is widely used to repel bugs (Meyer 1960, Hutchens 1991, Foster 2000).
An earlier scientific name, Cimicifuga, comes from Cimex, a bed bug, and fugo, to drive away, and reflects some of the common names of the herb, namely “bugbane” and “bugwort” (Meyer 1960, Hutchens 1991). However, these might more accurately be assigned only to other closely related bugbane species. In the past, the leaves of these others, which are similar in appearance to their North American counterparts but with a strong aroma, were placed in the rafters or among the sheets to keep bed bugs away. In our A. racemosa, it is the flowers that have a strong odor, which some contend will drive bugs away (Harding 1972), but that aroma certainly is attractive to its insect pollinators.
The Cherokee, Delaware, and Iroquois are among the groups who taught Europeans how to use the plant. The Algonquin word, cohosh, meaning rough, describes the root , which to this day is considered the source of its medicinal powers. Other common names seem to refer to uses taught to settlers by indigenous populations. For example, snakeroot and papoose root reflect traditional use as a remedy for snake bites and as an aid in childbirth, respectively
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