Black Cohosh

(Cimicifuga racemosa)

Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa (L.) Nutt.)

Identification: Flowers white, small, arranged as an elongate flowering spike. Petals and sepals early deciduous leaving clumps of bushy stamens. Leaves divided into 5 leaflets and each leaflet, in turn, roughly divided into 3 or more segments. Plant 3 to 8 feet tall.

Distribution: Throughout most of eastern North America.

Habitat: Black Cohosh is a woodland species.

Flowering period: June to September.

Similar Species: Black Cohosh may be confused with the baneberries. However the flowering spike of Black Cohosh is much more elongate. The fruits of Black Cohosh are not berries. The leaflets of Black Cohosh are subdivided into 3 segments, but are not subdivided in the baneberries.