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Actaea podocarpa

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Actaea podocarpa

Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Actaea
Species:
A. podocarpa
Binomial name
Actaea podocarpa
Synonyms

Cimicifuga americana

Actaea podocarpa, the mountain bugbane[2] or mountain black-cohosh, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family. It is native to the eastern United States, where it is found in the Appalachian Mountains,[1] with a disjunct population in Illinois. It is found in rich, mesic forests often in boulder-strewn coves.[3]

Actaea podocarpa is a large perennial herb. It is one of the later flowering of the eastern Actaea, producing white flowers in summer through fall.

Both it and Actaea rubifolia bear resemblance to black cohosh, which, due to its vasodilation properties, is valuable for the treatment of menopause symptoms; harvesters of black cohosh sometimes mistake A. podocarpa for black cohosh, accidentally harvesting it.[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  2. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Actaea podocarpa​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Flora of North America".
  4. ^ Churchill, John B.; Brosi, Sunshine; Howell, James. "Risk Assessment to State Rare Mountain Bugbane in Western Maryland" (PDF).