Black Cohosh - Non-Timber Forest Products

Offers information on black cohosh common names, habitat, botanical
characteristics, and harvest. Common names include cohosh bugbane,
black snakeroot, bugwort, rattlesnakeroot, rattleroot, rattleweed, rattletop,
richweed, and squawroot. Plants prefer shaded woodlands, but occasionally
will grow in fencerows, pasturelands, and open fields. The plant’s range is
centered around the Ohio Valley, extending north to Maine and Wisconsin
and south to Georgia and Missouri. Plants can grow to 8 feet in height.
Leaves are divided into three toothed, multiply-divided leaflets. Flower
spikes are six inches to two feet in length, with small white feathery blooms.
Buds, flowers, and seeds appear along the spike at the same time. Seedpods
ripen in the fall and rattle in the wind. Flowers have an offensive smell.
Roots consist of a horizontal knotted rhizome with long fleshy rootlets.
Roots are collected in the fall after seeds are ripe.
Keywords: Botanical description, common names, flowers, habitat, harvest,
odor, range, rhizomes.
Stelling, K. 1994. Native botanical profile: Cimicifuga racemosa. Canadian
Journal of Herbalism. April: 21-25.
Provides a profile of black cohosh. Includes botanical and common names,
name origins, botany, habitat and harvest, pharmacognosy, constituents,
actions, pharmacology, therapeutics (cardiovascular, genito-sexual,
oncology, musculo-skeletal, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and neurological),
pharmacy, toxicity, folklore, and references.
Keywords: Chemical constituents, common names, habitat, harvest,
medicinal uses, physiological actions, research reviews.
Stolberg, S.G. 2001. The estrogen alternative – black cohosh. http://www.
mercola.com/2001/may/19/estrogen.htm. [Date accessed: September 13,
2004].
Discusses the history of herbal medicine, the growing popularity of herbal
remedies, and modern clinical research. Black cohosh is a popular remedy
for the symptoms of menopause, with a substantial market in Germany and
growing demand in the United States.
Keywords: History, market demand, medicinal uses, research reviews.
Strauch, B. 1995. An herb to know – black cohosh. The Herb Companion.
October/November: 24-25.
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