CHAPTER XXI.
COHOSH — BLACK AND BLUE.
Black Cohosh.
Cimicifuga Racemosa (L.) Nutt.
Synonym — Actaea Racemosa L.
Pharmacopoeial Name — Cimicifuga.
Other Common Names — Black snakeroot, bugbane, bugwort, rattlesnakeroot, rattleroot, rattleweed, rattletop, richweed, squawroot.
Habitat and Range — Altho preferring the shade of rich woods, black cohosh will grow occasionally in sunny situations in fence corners and woodland pastures. It is most abundant in the Ohio Valley, but it occurs from Maine to Wisconsin, south along the Allegheny Mountains to Georgia and westward to Missouri.
Description of Plant — Rising to a height of 3 to 8 feet, the showy, delicate-flowered spikes of the Black Cohosh tower above most of the other woodland flowers, making it a conspicuous plant in the woods and one that can be easily recognized.