False Goat's Beard

(Astilbe biternata)

False Goat's Beard (Astilbe biternata [Vent.] Britt.)

Identification: Flowers white, minute, consisting of a small cup-like base with 10 elongate stamens. Flowers arranged in a large, elongate, highly branched spray of spikes. Spray soft and feathery appearing. Leaves compound with 3 to 5 leaflets, each leaflet with a toothed outer margin, sometimes partially cut. Plant 3 to 5 feet in height.

Distribution: Found from Maryland, southward to Georgia and Tennessee.

Habitat: False Goat's Beard is a woodland species.

Flowering period: June.

Similar Species: The feathery sprays of minute, white flowers with their 10 long stamens, and the compound leaves should identify this species.

Comments: False Goat's Beard is sometimes used as a cultivated ornamental.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.