Blue cohosh facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Blue cohosh |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Caulophyllum
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| Species: |
thalictroides
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Caulophyllum thalictroides, the blue cohosh, a species of Caulophyllum (family Berberidaceae), also called squaw root or papoose root, is a flowering plant in the Berberidaceae (barberry) family. It is a medium-tall perennial with blue berry-like fruits and bluish-green foliage.
Contents
Uses
Some bees visit the petals' nectar glands early in the season.
The plant has been used as a medicinal herb by American Indians. Many Native American tribes, and later European herbologists and mid-wives would use this herb due to its medicinal properties.
The seeds have also reportedly been used a coffee substitute.
Characteristics
From the single stalk rising from the ground, there is a single, large, three-branched leaf plus a fruiting stalk. The bluish-green leaflets are tulip-shaped, entire at the base, but serrate at the tip. Its species name, thalictroides, comes from the similarity between the large highly divided, multiple-compound leaves of meadow-rue (Thalictrum) and those of blue cohosh.
It is found in hardwood forest of the eastern United States, and favors moist coves and hillsides, generally in shady locations, in rich soil. It grows in eastern North America, from Manitoba and Oklahoma east to the Atlantic Ocean.
Gallery
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In bloom
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Foliage of plant in a Michigan deciduous forest
See also
In Spanish: Caulophyllum thalictroides para niños
