Black Cohosh - Commonly Called Snakeroot - History & Medicinal Uses



Posted: Thursday, September 24, 2009

by Dennis Sons
tn nursery

Black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) perhaps more commonly known as "black snakeroot," particularly when used medicinally belongs to the buttercup family; the plant's native home is the shady, deciduous forest of the eastern portion of the United States. They were originally noticed by the botanical observers of pre-colonial America because of their beautiful, robust, deeply cut, astilbe-like foliage with eloquently tall spikes of bright, white, fuzzy bottlebrush flowers, which attractively wave at 3 to 8 feet in height like small snowy flags.

The plant belongs to a number of various categories; it is considered a garden perennial, a medicinal herb, and a woodland wildflower to name a few. This particular perennial typically grows and prospers in the cavernous shade of damp hillsides, this also being the home to other essential medicinal plants like ginseng and goldenseal. Black cohosh or snakeroot has hearty leaves with three-lobed leaflets. The lobe in the middle of the toothed leaflets is largest. It spouts tufts of eye-catching stamens, which surround the pistil in its center. This lovely bloom first appears in May and will continue to show off it pretty flowers into September.

Snakeroot should be grown in fertile, moist, organically rich soil in a relatively shady location. Although the flowers' scent can be slightly unpleasant, it remains an excellent choice for any woodland garden or a border of swampy, moist areas. Because the plant grows to such heights, you may find the need to support them. To propagate the plant, divide the in the springtime or sow the seeds as soon as they become ripe during a cold frame of the season. Seeds will germinate the following year come spring.

Historically, by the early part of the 18 th century, the black cohosh had been introduced into the English garden; it was often sought for its hardy, ornamental appeal. Today it remains a flower that is more widely grown in the gardens of Europe than in America. In the days before European discovery of America, Native Americans found it useful to use the root of the black cohosh to help with conditions of the female variety, including childbirth. They also often used the snakeroot as an aid in the treatment of rheumatism. It is said, too, that they valued the plant as a diuretic and a tonic. Today, women in particular during the phases of menopause are now realizing that this Native American remedy for difficult-to-treat female conditions is excellent in relieving the symptoms that are often associated with menopause; this use of the plant has been confirmed by clinical research done on the effects of the black cohosh as a medicinal herb. Many consider it to be a rising star on the horizon of herbal remedies.

Collectively, black cohosh plants are also well known as bugbanes, particularly the native European species, Cimicifuga europaea, which is an unpleasant, strong-smelling herb, thus the name "bugbane." This has given it the reputation of being an excellent insect repellant.

Though relatively trouble free, the snakeroot can become affected by rust and various leaf-feeding insects, including tarnished plant bug.

This Article has been viewed 221 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.