Blue Cohosh
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 Caulophyllum thalictroides from Britton & Brown 1913
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| Caulophyllum thalictroides (L.) Michaux |
Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides), also called Squaw Root or Papoose Root) is a flowering plant in the Berberidaceae, (barberry) family. It was used as a medicinal herb by American Indians. It is a tall perennial with large blue berry-like fruits. It can be used as a dietary supplement that can induce labor.
From the single stalk rising from the ground, there is single large three branched leaf plus a fruiting stalk. The leaf-lets are tulip shaped, entire at the base but serrate at the tip. It's species name, thalictroides comes from the similarity between the large highly divided, multiple-compound leaves of Meadow-rue (Thalictrum) and Blue Cohosh.
Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa), although similarly named, is actually a plant in a separate genus.
It grows in eastern North America, from Manitoba and Oklahoma east to the Atlantic Ocean.
[edit] See Also
[edit] External links
- USDA page for Caulophyllum thalictroides
- Blue Cohosh page from eFloras site
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