Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Actaea podocarpa
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.
Learn more about Mountain Black Cohosh from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Actaea podocarpa
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Cimicifuga americana
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-09-002:
Cimicifuga americana FAMILY Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cimicifuga americana
COMMON NAME:
Mountain Black Cohosh, American Cohosh, Late Black Cohosh
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969 mpa_page_095
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_ciam_001_lvd
)
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.
)
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
)
Ron Lance rwl_20230919_131357
September Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
Begins to bloom in late summer, about when A. racemosa should be about finished, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
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 (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Actaea podocarpa
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Actaea podocarpa
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Cimicifuga americana
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-09-002:
Cimicifuga americana
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cimicifuga americana
327
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Rich cove forests and slopes, at moderate to high elevations, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon (rare in SC)
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:
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 (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p141
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p094
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p142
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p424
- 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 of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p050
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