Photograph courtesy of John Pickering. Copyright John Pickering, Athens, GA. All rights reserved.

Caulophyllum thalictroides (L.) Michaux

Author: Julia Gilmore,an Ecology student at The University of Georgia

Table of Contents

Common Names

Blue cohosh, Blue ginseng, Yellow ginseng,Squawroot, Papoose root

Higher Taxa

Class Magnoliopsida

Order Ranunculales

Family Berberidaceae

Subfamily (not found)

Tribe (not found)

Genus Caulophyllum

Description of species

Holotype/Paratype: (information not found)

Identification Key: can be found in Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (see References)

Type: Perennial herb

Growth form: the shoots grow from a rhizome in early spring and the plant grows from 1-3 feet tall

Flower: are 1/2 inches across with 6 large sepals, 6 small glandlike petals, 6 stamens, and a single pistil; petals have nectar glands on which bees land; usually appear before leaf is fully open and eventually leads to deep blue berry-like seeds"

Leaves: 2, compound, alternate; lower leaf is large and is typically divided into 27 leaflets; upper leaf is small and usually has 9-12 leaflets; at the apex of the leaflets there are 3-5 pointed lobes

Fruits: pair of large, stalked, blue berry-like seeds that appear as small blue grapes

Geography

(Geographical Chart for Caulophyllum thalictroides)

Blue Cohosh grows in rich, moist woods in April or May. It is found from New England, to the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee and also westward to North Dakota and Nebraska.

Natural History

Ecological Requirements

Soil: moist woods

Season: mid-Spring (April or May)

Life Cycle: after pollination, the ovary of the pistil bursts by the pressure of the growing seeds; the bursted ovary withers away as the naked seeds proceed to develop; at maturity, the outer seed coat appears fleshy and blue

How to Encounter

How:

fleshy, blue seeds; single leaf that is divided into multiple leaflets--resembles a plant with many leaves

When:

In April or May

Where:

In eastern woodlands under maples and elms and in moist thickets of wetlands

References

Cunningham, James A. and John E. Klimas. 1974. Wildflowers of Eastern America.Alfred A. Knopf. New York.139.

Grimm, William Carey. 1993. The Illustrated Book of Wildflowers and Shrubs. Stackpole Books. Harrisburg, PA. 108.

Hylander, Clarence J. 1954. The Macmillan Wild Flower Book. The Macmillan Company. New York. 136.

Niering, William A. and Nancy C. Olmstead. 1979. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers. Alfred A. Knopf. New York. 416.

Radford, A. E., H.E. Ahles & C. R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. University of North Carolina Press. Chapel Hill, NC.

Wofford, B. Eugene. 1989. Guide to the Vascular Plants of the Blue Ridge. The University of Georgia Press. Athens, GA.181.

Common Names Reference 1

Common Names Reference 2

Higher Taxa Reference

Description Reference 1

Description Reference 2