Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Hydrastis canadensis
FAMILY
Hydrastidaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read about Hydrastis’s search for a family from Alan Weakley and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Learn more about Goldenseal from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Hydrastis canadensis
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Hydrastis canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Hydrastis canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-05-001:
Hydrastis canadensis FAMILY Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hydrastis canadensis
COMMON NAME:
Goldenseal
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969 mpa_page_145
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_hyca_001_lvd
)
Ron Lance rwl_hydrastis_canad
March Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
Leaves 5-7" wide, palmately veined and deeply lobed, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm080421_025
April Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm150412_235b
April Pickens County SC
Laurel Fork Heritage Preserve
Flower composed of numerous greenish-white stamens, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).
)
JK Marlow jkm150412_235c
April Pickens County SC
Laurel Fork Heritage Preserve
Flower solitary, superior ovary with numerous carpels. Scape densely hirsute, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm150412_236
April Pickens County SC
Laurel Fork Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm150412_237
April Pickens County SC
Laurel Fork Heritage Preserve
)
Keith Bradley kab_h_canadensis_5235
April Watauga County NC
Daniel Boone Native Gardens
)
Keith Bradley kab_h_canadensis_5250
April Watauga County NC
Daniel Boone Native Gardens
)
Tim Spira tpshcanadensis3
April
A single basal leaf and two more leaves near the top of the stem, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm0305r_11
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_h_canadensis_2
May
Leaves appear wrinkled during flowering, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_h_canadensis_6
May
)
JK Marlow jkm0407h_30
July Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Fruits are dark red berries,1-2 seeded, borne in a cluster, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
COMPARE
fruits that are an aggregate of berries
)
JK Marlow jkm170818_661
August Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Hydrastis canadensis
FAMILY
Hydrastidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Hydrastis canadensis
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Hydrastis canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Hydrastis canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-05-001:
Hydrastis canadensis
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hydrastis canadensis
710
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Mesic (rarely drier), very nutrient-rich forests, with circumneutral soils, over calcareous or mafic rocks such as limestone, amphibolite, and dolostone, sometimes forming large colonies after canopy disturbance such as logging, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring
White
3 sepals
Petals absent
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Red
Aggregate of berries
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p139
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p133
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p420
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p161
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p213
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p012
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p040
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p061
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p398
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p049
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