Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Actaea racemosa
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read about Actaea and Cimicifuga from Alan Weakley and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
This finishes blooming about when the very similar A. podocarpa begins (around mid-July). Learn other ways to separate the two species from Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Actaea racemosa
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Actaea racemosa
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Actaea racemosa var. dissecta
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Actaea racemosa var. racemosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 3 (1997)
Cimicifuga racemosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-09-001:
Cimicifuga racemosa FAMILY Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cimicifuga racemosa
COMMON NAME:
Common Black Cohosh, Early Black Cohosh, Black Snakeroot, black bugbane
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_cira_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm120330_277
March Pickens County SC
Terminal leaflet with 3 major veins arising from the base, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm110415_580
April Carroll County GA
)
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.
)
JK Marlow jkm070526_087
May Polk County NC
)
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
)
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 (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
COMPARE
compound leaves of woodland herbs, with toothed margins
)
JK Marlow jkm120617_980
June Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm120617_982
June Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm210619_1417
June Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
The petals are absent, but the flowers have numerous showy white stamens, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm210619_1431
June Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
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 (Spira, 2011).
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 (Spira, 2011).
)
JK Marlow jkm230720_4652
July Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm210824_3016
August Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
Follicles 5-8mm long, 4-5mm broad, broadly ellipsoid, pubescent, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
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 (Spira, 2011).
)
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
)
JK Marlow jkm221103_0549
November Pickens County SC
Nine Times Preserve
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Actaea racemosa
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Actaea racemosa
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Actaea racemosa
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Actaea racemosa var. dissecta
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Actaea racemosa var. racemosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 3
Cimicifuga racemosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-09-001:
Cimicifuga racemosa
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cimicifuga racemosa
328
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Rich cove forests, other mesic and moderately to very fertile forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
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 (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p141
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p116
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p133
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p142
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p424
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p325
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p214
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) P013
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p074
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p301
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p034
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p056
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p326
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p050
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