Black Cohosh
- Actaea racemosa
| Light: | Partial, Shade |
| Soil: | Sand, Loam, Clay |
| Moisture: | Medium, Moist |
| Benefits: | Pollinators, Deer Resistant |
| Height: | 4'-6' |
| Blooms: | Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep |
| Zones: | 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
| Color: | White |
| Spacing: | 2'-3' |
| Root: | Rhizome |
| Quantity | Price Ea. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 Gallon Pot | $15.99 |
Black Cohosh is a striking woodland native that creates a strong vertical statement in a shade or border garden. The candle-like flower spires really stand out in front of a darker background and provide late summer blooms when other shade plants have faded. Large and bush-like, a mature plant makes an impressive specimen once established. Or use it to naturalize large shade areas, where its size allows it to fill in the shade garden after spring ephemerals have gone dormant.
The flowers last for three weeks, and may bloom as early as June or as late as September, depending on their geographic location. The deep green foliage of Black Cohosh retains its good texture and color throughout the growing season. Easy to maintain, it is native to moist deciduous woodlands in the eastern half of the U.S. and prefers the rich soils typical of these woodlands, yet is fairly drought tolerant.
Actaea racemosa is a host plant and/or nectar source for the Spring Azure butterfly (Celastrina ladon).
Habitat: Rich woods and woodland openings
Also known as: Cimicifuga racemosa, Bugbane, Black bugbane, Black snakeroot, Fairy candles
Also of note: Black Cohosh has an odor that repels insects, thus the common name "Bugbane." In the past the root was used to treat various conditions, ranging from snakebite and lung inflammations, to the pains of childbirth.
The flowers last for three weeks, and may bloom as early as June or as late as September, depending on their geographic location. The deep green foliage of Black Cohosh retains its good texture and color throughout the growing season. Easy to maintain, it is native to moist deciduous woodlands in the eastern half of the U.S. and prefers the rich soils typical of these woodlands, yet is fairly drought tolerant.
Actaea racemosa is a host plant and/or nectar source for the Spring Azure butterfly (Celastrina ladon).
Habitat: Rich woods and woodland openings
Also known as: Cimicifuga racemosa, Bugbane, Black bugbane, Black snakeroot, Fairy candles
Also of note: Black Cohosh has an odor that repels insects, thus the common name "Bugbane." In the past the root was used to treat various conditions, ranging from snakebite and lung inflammations, to the pains of childbirth.
Black Cohosh Actaea racemosa
Red Baneberry Actaea rubra
Maidenhair Fern Adiantum pedatum
Lavender Hyssop Agastache foeniculum
Nodding Pink Onion Allium cernuum
Leadplant Amorpha canescens
Common Bluestar Amsonia tabernaemontana
Big Bluestem Andropogon gerardii
Canada Anemone Anemone canadensis
Columbine Aquilegia canadensis
Spikenard Aralia racemosa
Jack in the Pulpit Arisaema triphyllum
Black Chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa
Wild Ginger Asarum canadense
Poke Milkweed Asclepias exaltata
Showy Milkweed Asclepias speciosa
Sullivant's Milkweed Asclepias sullivantii
Common Milkweed Asclepias syriaca
Butterflyweed Asclepias tuberosa
Butterflyweed for Clay Asclepias tuberosa, var. Clay
Sky Blue Aster Aster azureus
Heart Leaved Aster Aster cordifolius
White Woodland Aster Aster divaricatus
Rice Button Aster Aster dumosus
Heath Aster Aster ericoides
Smooth Aster Aster laevis
Calico Aster Aster lateriflorus
Big Leaf Aster Aster macrophyllus
New England Aster Aster novae-angliae
Crooked Stem Aster Aster prenanthoides
Lady Fern Athyrium filix-femina
Blue False Indigo Baptisia australis
Cream False Indigo Baptisia bracteata
White False Indigo Baptisia lactea
Sideoats Grama Bouteloua curtipendula
Purple Poppy Mallow Callirhoe involucrata
White Tinged Sedge Carex albicans
Creek Sedge Carex amphibola
Copper Shouldered Oval Sedge Carex bicknellii
Ivory Sedge Carex eburnea
Bur Sedge Carex grayi
Palm Sedge Carex muskingumensis
Pennsylvania Sedge Carex pensylvanica
Plantain Leaved Sedge Carex plantaginea
Eastern Star Sedge Carex radiata
Golden Star Sedge Carex rosea
Long Beaked Sedge Carex sprengelii
Wild Senna Cassia hebecarpa
Blue Cohosh Caulophyllum thalictroides
New Jersey Tea Ceanothus americanus
Northern Sea Oats Chasmanthium latifolium
Virgin's Bower Clematis virginiana
Sweet Fern Comptonia peregrina
Lanceleaf Coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata
Rose Coreopsis Coreopsis rosea
Red Twig (Red Osier) Dogwood Cornus sericea
American Hazelnut Corylus americana
White Prairie Clover Dalea candida
Tall Blue Larkspur Delphinium exaltatum
Hayscented Fern Dennstaedtia punctilobula
Tufted Hairgrass Deschampsia cespitosa
Wavy Hairgrass Deschampsia flexuosa
Wild Bleeding Heart Dicentra eximia
Northern Bush Honeysuckle Diervilla lonicera
Shootingstar Dodecatheon meadia
Goldie's Fern Dryopteris goldiana
Marginal Wood Fern Dryopteris marginalis
Pale Purple Coneflower Echinacea pallida
Ozark Coneflower Echinacea paradoxa
Purple Coneflower Echinacea purpurea
Fireweed Epilobium angustifolium
Rattlesnake Master Eryngium yuccifolium
Trout Lily Erythronium americanum
Tall Joe Pye Weed Eupatorium fistulosum
Queen of the Prairie Filipendula rubra
Wild Geranium Geranium maculatum
Witchhazel Hamamelis virginiana
Dogtooth Daisy Helenium autumnale
Ox Eye Sunflower Heliopsis helianthoides
Sharp Lobed Hepatica Hepatica acutiloba
American Alum Root Heuchera americana, var. Interior
Maple Leaved Alum Root Heuchera villosa, var. Atropurpurea
Rose Mallow Hibiscus palustris
Vanilla Sweet Grass Hierochloe odorata
Bottlebrush Grass Hystrix patula
Dwarf Crested Iris Iris cristata
Meadow Blazingstar Liatris ligulistylis
Prairie Blazingstar Liatris pycnostachya
Dense Blazingstar Liatris spicata
Scaly Blazingstar Liatris squarrosa
Cardinal Flower Lobelia cardinalis
Virginia Bluebells Mertensia virginica
Red Beebalm Monarda didyma
Bergamot Monarda fistulosa
Cinnamon Fern Osmunda cinnamomea
Interrupted Fern Osmunda claytoniana
Golden Groundsel Packera aurea
Switchgrass Panicum virgatum
Wild Quinine Parthenium integrifolium
Smooth Penstemon Penstemon digitalis
Broad Leaved Penstemon Penstemon ovatus
Small's Penstemon Penstemon smallii
Wild Blue Phlox Phlox divaricata
Marsh Phlox Phlox glaberrima
Downy Phlox Phlox pilosa
Common Ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius
Mayapple Podophyllum peltatum
Jacob's Ladder Polemonium reptans
Solomon's Seal Polygonatum biflorum
Christmas Fern Polystichum acrostichoides
Chokecherry Prunus virginiana
Yellow Coneflower Ratibida pinnata
Smooth Sumac Rhus glabra
Meadow Rose Rosa blanda
Carolina Rose Rosa carolina
Climbing Prairie Rose Rosa setigera
Thimbleberry Rubus parviflorus
Orange Coneflower Rudbeckia fulgida
Black Eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta
Sweet Black Eyed Susan Rudbeckia subtomentosa
Brown Eyed Susan Rudbeckia triloba
Wild Petunia Ruellia humilis
Pussy Willow Salix discolor
Blue Sage Salvia azurea
Common Elderberry Sambucus canadensis
Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis
Little Bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium
Wild Stonecrop Sedum ternatum
Royal Catchfly Silene regia
Fire Pink Silene virginica
Compassplant Silphium laciniatum
Cupplant Silphium perfoliatum
Prairie Dock Silphium terebinthinaceum
Solomon's Plume Smilacina racemosa
Starry Solomon's Plume Smilacina stellata
Blue Stemmed Goldenrod Solidago caesia
Zigzag Goldenrod Solidago flexicaulis
Anise Scented Goldenrod Solidago odora
Ohio Goldenrod Solidago ohioensis
Stiff Goldenrod Solidago rigida
Showy Goldenrod Solidago speciosa
Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans
Prairie Dropseed Sporobolus heterolepis
White Snowberry Symphoricarpos albus
Early Meadowrue Thalictrum dioicum
Foamflower Tiarella cordifolia
Prairie Spiderwort Tradescantia bracteata
Western Spiderwort Tradescantia occidentalis
Ohio Spiderwort Tradescantia ohiensis
Red Trillium Trillium erectum
Large Flowered Trillium Trillium grandiflorum
Yellow Wakerobin Trillium Trillium luteum
Bellwort Uvularia grandiflora
Blue Vervain Verbena hastata
Hoary Vervain Verbena stricta
Culver's Root Veronicastrum virginicum
Nannyberry Viburnum lentago
Blackhaw Viburnum Viburnum prunifolium
Highbush Cranberry Viburnum trilobum
Labrador Violet Viola labradorica
Golden Alexanders Zizia aurea
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