Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Actaea podocarpa
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read about Actaea and Cimicifuga from Alan Weakley and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Learn more about Mountain Black Cohosh from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Actaea podocarpa
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-09-002:
Cimicifuga americana
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
COMMON NAME:
Mountain Black Cohosh, American Cohosh, Late Black Cohosh
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_ciam_001_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm060429_006b
April Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Ranger District
Terminal leaflet with 3 major veins arising from the base, per Weakley's Flora.
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JK Marlow jkm060429_006c
April Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm170818_704
August Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
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JK Marlow jkm111008_942
October Jackson County NC
Balsam Mountain Preserve
Petiole of basal leaves with a deep, broad groove (ca. 1mm wide & deep), per Weakley's Flora.
COMPARE
Cohosh, Doll's-eyes, and Goatsbeard
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JK Marlow jkm111008_949
October Jackson County NC
Balsam Mountain Preserve
Follicles 8-15mm long, 4-8mm broad, glabrous, compressed, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Actaea podocarpa
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Actaea podocarpa
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-09-002:
Cimicifuga americana
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
327
Forb
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Documented growing wild in GA NC SC
Uncommon (rare in SC)
Look for it in rich cove forests and slopes, at moderate to high elevations, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a more detailed map from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium,
or click here to see a map from SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
LEAVES:
Complexly compound, with 2+ levels of pinnate and/or ternate compoundness
Alternate & basal
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
White
2-5 sepals
Petals absent
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Follicle
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South p141
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers p094
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p424
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast p214
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States p013
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition p074
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p034
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians p056
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains p050