Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Actaea racemosa
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 Common Black Cohosh from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDING
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Actaea racemosa +
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-09-001:
Cimicifuga racemosa
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
COMMON NAME:
Common Black Cohosh, Early Black Cohosh, Black Snakeroot
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm120330_277
March Pickens County SC
Terminal leaflet with 3 major veins arising from the base, per Weakley's Flora.
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JK Marlow jkm110415_580
April Carroll County GA
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JK Marlow jkm160421_352
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm060508_087
May Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Ranger District
Black Cohosh on the left; Blue Cohosh on the right
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JK Marlow jkm070526_087
May Polk County NC
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JK Marlow jkm070526_089
May Polk County NC
Black Cohosh on the left; False Goatsbeard on the right
)
JK Marlow jkm110513_474
May Greenville County SC
Camp Old Indian
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JK Marlow jkm0506e_15
June Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Leaflets broad, coarsely toothed; terminal leaflet generally 3-lobed, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians.
COMPARE
compound leaves of woodland herbs, with toothed margins
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JK Marlow jkm120617_980
June Spartanburg County SC
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JK Marlow jkm120617_982
June Spartanburg County SC
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JK Marlow jkm210619_1417
June Greenville County SC
The petals are absent, but the flowers have numerous showy white stamens, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians.
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JK Marlow jkm210619_1431
June Greenville County SC
Flower stalks 3-8' tall w tassel-like flowers in long narrow arching racemes, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont.
COMPARE
Cohosh, Doll's-eyes, and Goatsbeard
)
Jerry Bright jeb_mg_5426
July Haywood County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm200717_6611
July Jackson County NC
Nantahala National Forest
The numerous stamens give the long narrow inflorescence its fuzzy appearance, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont.
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JK Marlow jkm210824_3016
August Greenville County SC
Follicles 5-8mm long, 4-5mm broad, broadly ellipsoid, pubescent, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
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JK Marlow jkm0509f_32
September Greenville County SC
SC Native Plant Society Plant Sale
The sepals fall off as the flower opens, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont.
)
JK Marlow jkm111008_940
October Jackson County NC
Balsam Mountain Preserve
Petiole of basal leaves terete, not grooved (or with an early shallow groove), per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm211106_4767
November Pickens County SC
Palmetto Trail
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Actaea racemosa
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
INCLUDING
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Actaea racemosa +
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-09-001:
Cimicifuga racemosa
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
328
Forb
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Documented growing wild in GA NC SC
Common (rare in Coastal Plain of NC)
Look for it in rich cove forests, other mesic & moderately to very fertile forests, 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.
...Moist
LEAVES:
Complexly compound, with 2+ levels of pinnate and/or ternate compoundness
Alternate & basal
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
4 sepals (usually)
Petals absent
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Follicle
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South p141
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee p116
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC p133
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p424
- Southern Appalachian Wildflowers p056
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast p214
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States P013
- Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition p063
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition p074
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p034
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians p056
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont p326
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains p050