A PLANT WITH AS MANY USES AS IT HAS NAMES

BLACK COHOSH, BLACK SNAKEROOT, BUGBANE...TAKE YOUR PICK OF NAMES FOR THIS NATIVE PERENNIAL  PLANT

...WITH VERY LARGE COMPOUND LEAVES...

...AND LARGE RACEMES OF PUNGENT FLOWERS...

...THAT ARE VERY DISTINCTIVE

Thursday, 9:00 AM.  44 degrees F, wind WNW, with persistent light to moderate gusts. The sky is clear, the humidity 78%, and the barometer is on the rise, now at 30.09".  We should have some days of fine fall weather.
   Reader Scott H. asked if Bayfield's Christ Church, Episcopal, is still open on Sundays.  It is, until the end of October, but after that only for special occasions until next summer.
   I found this plant, Cimicifuga racemosa, in the woodsy yard of a well-known Bayfield gardener.  He and his wife are evidently away so I have not had the opportunity to ask him where he obtained it.
   It has a number of common names, the most prevalent of them being black cohosh, black snakeroot, and bugbane.  It's genus name translates from the Latin as "to drive away bugs," and the species name refers to the showy flowers being borne in racemes. It is in the buttercup family, the Ranunculaceae.
   The plant has many uses in  modern herbal medicine, American folk remedies and Native American  medicine.  The roots are  still used for the treatment of women's menstrual problems, and the Indians used it more or less in the same way, but also for the treatment of rheumatism, and respiratory diseases such as whooping cough.  In American folk medicine it was also considered an antidote for rattlesnake bites. In spite of the common name "bugbane," I have found no references to such use.  Cimicifuga racemosa  has very powerful drug properties and may cause birth defects if ingested by a pregnant woman. It should probably not be used without the supervision of a medical professional.
   This is a quite beautiful and impressive plant native to deep woods throughout much of eastern North America.  It's flowers have a very pungent aroma that I find rather pleasant, but which Joan dislikes very much.  I think it is a great plant for the shade garden, but it needs a deep, rich woodland loam soil to thrive.