What's In Bloom?
Actaea (Cimicifuga) racemosa
aka: Bugbane, Bugwort, Black Cohosh, Snakeroot, Macrotys, Black Bugbane, Rattleweed
I'm often surprised by Google results. It may be out of step with "normal" American culture, but I'm usually just fine with my walk. This time I felt a little embarrassed though. Despite self-identifying as an aspiring hippie, I'm still pretty western in the way I think about healing. (In my slight defense, many years ago, my younger sister had serious liver complications after taking supplements, so I may have an outsized fear.)
Also, I love books, so when I research plants, I still turn to books first, but this morning my house was still asleep and I'm pretty clumsy, so I didn't want to rummage around inside collecting books. Plus I was sitting on the porch with my laptop, so I did that modern thing and just googled "black cohosh" expecting the kind of results I would find in my gardening books - planting conditions, bloom time, hardiness zones, etc.
But when you google "black cohosh," the results are all about the health benefits of this plant as an herbal supplement and I felt kinda dumb because it might be a supplement I should consider. The Cleveland Clinic says this: BLACK COHOSH (blak KOH hosh) may relieve the symptoms of menopause. Other sites go much further, saying it may help prevent breast cancer, improve fertility in women with PCOS, relieve vertigo and tinnitus, promote better sleep, lower blood pressure, and reduce heart palpitations. All the sites are careful to say that further studies and evaluations are needed before the FDA will approve its use.
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says this: In traditional Native American medicine, the roots of black cohosh were used to treat fever, cough, musculoskeletal pain, and complications associated with childbirth.
The photos above and below by Jeanne Wiebenga show Black Cohosh in the gardens behind Smith Wilkes Hall. Jack Gulvin highlighted it on his Nature Walk Friday morning. It's growing in a shade garden beneath an ancient sugar maple (a maple that also appears fully-grown - in a 1929 photo of Mina Miller Edison and Addie Mae Smith Wilkes).
Amanda's Garden, a wonderful nursery in the Finger Lakes (Sparta, NY), which specializes in woodland native perennials, says this about Black Cohosh:
A plant with many common names, Black Cohosh is also called Black Snakeroot or Bugbane. Whichever name you prefer, it's a wonderful plant. This plant grows to a stately 3 to 8 feet, creating a dramatic effect in the garden. The foliage itself only gets about 3 feet tall but the tall flower stalks shoot up above the plant. The flowers themselves are so white they illuminate the area in which they grow. The foliage is attractive and neat and the leaves are sharply toothed and twice divided into three leaflets. The leaves are very similar to doll's eyes (Actaea pachypoda) but the plant grows much larger.
Black cohosh prefers to grow in full shade to dappled shade. I have seen a stand of it growing under oak trees in the wild; a truly a magnificent sight. Black cohosh prefers a moist soil rich in organic matter but will do fine in a dryer organic soil.
Black cohosh is the larval food for the Spring Blue Azure butterfly . The flowers also attract a lot of different insects that feed on its nectar. Joe-pye weed makes an excellent companion for Black Cohosh, as do ferns and woodland ground covers, such as Wild Ginger and Green and Gold.
Black Cohosh is easily started from seed collected in the fall and planted immediately. Black Cohosh may take a few years to establish and flower. The plants can also be divided in the early spring or late fall.
The winner of the 2017 Wildflower of the Year Award, the Virginia Native Plant Society wrote a brilliant description of their pick here. I thoroughly enjoyed the Names and Relationships section which explains why you often see Cimicifuga in parentheses as part of the scientific name, as we have done in the title above.
The common names are intriguing. Here are explanations I found:
Bugbane: Apparently, the scent acts as an insect deterrent, including to bedbugs. And you'll find the same Latin root as in the word "fumigate" in the scientific name Cimicifuga.
Bugwort: Wort is an old-timey suffix for plant, a derivation of the word “wyrt,” an old English word meaning plant, root, or herb. These plants were beneficial to humans. The opposite sort of plant had the suffix weed, as in ragweed. Wort was often attached to parts of the body and it was assumed (usually wrongly) that because a plant was shaped like that part of the human body (think liverwort) that the plant could be used to treat that ailments of that body part (quite the ethnocentric view of the plant world!).
Black cohosh: "black" refers to the dark coloration of the rhizome and "cohosh" is an Algonquian word meaning "rough," which describes the the rhizome's surface. (Rhizome: a somewhat elongated usually horizontal subterranean plant stem... and is distinguished from a true root in possessing buds, nodes, and usually scalelike leaves)
Snakeroot: Some sources claim that old-timers believed it would serve as an antidote for snake bites (not true), while other sources say that it's just that the roots look like snakes.
Thanks for sticking with all that! I sure had fun researching.
Leslie Renjilian, BTG President and Black Cohosh Enthusiast
Tickets On Sale Now!
above: Life Member Jane Finley took this photo on our field trip to the Floating Fen on Wednesday. Nineteen people showed up for our first-ever Pop-up Field Trip - a great new model for us!
Monday, July 8 | 4:15PM Lake Walk: Sewage Treatment Plant Tour with Mike Starks Location Note for Insiders: Through trial and error, we have learned that switching meet-up locations results mostly in error, so we keep it simple. Thus, the Monday Lake Walk always begins at the Pier Building at 4:15pm. However, as you have no doubt surmised, this week's walk will head straight over to the Sewage Treatment Plant by the Sailing Center, so if you'd prefer to meet there at 4:30, do that and enjoy maximum efficiency in your Monday. |
Tuesday, July 9 | 12:15PM BTG Brown Bag Lecture: Architecture - House and Garden Tour Preview Notes with Bob Jeffries Location: Smith Wilkes Hall |
Wednesday, July 10 | 8:00AM Gloves-on Gardening Lessons with Betsy Burgeson Location: Meet at the corner of Massey & Hawthorne. Join us for a short lesson followed by gardening together. Bring gloves if you have them; we'll provide the tools.
12:30-2:30PM Shipman Garden History & Horticulture Tours Location: Miller Cottage (24 Miller) There will be a historical garden tour at 12:30PM and horticulture Q&A at 1:30PM. Miller Cottage (the cottage interior) is open to the public this year on Tuesdays and Thursdays with tours led by Clara Miller. YAY!! Tickets are free and available at the Visitor's Center. Note: This is a Chautauqua Institution program - not a BTG event. To recap: The Gardens are open to the public on Wednesdays (sponsored by BTG and no ticket required) and the Cottage is open Tuesday and Thursday (free ticket and sponsored by CI). This week, the Cottage will be open 12-5PM on the House and Garden Tour ($55 ticket required).
4:15PM Tree Walk with Jack Gulvin Location: Smith WIlkes Hall patio |
Thursday, July 11 | 7:30AM Forest Bathing with Kate Mayberry Location: Meet at the corner of Massey & Hawthorne. Forest Bathing will take place in the Secret Silo Garden. Wear comfortable clothes.
9:30AM Lecture by Betsy Burgeson - The Neglectful Garden - Low Maintenance Plants for Gardeners with Limited Time
Location: Smith Wilkes Hall
12-5PM 2024 House & Garden Tour
Location: Check House and Garden Locations on the ExploreCHQ app or here.
Tickets required - $55 each.
4:15PM: Purple Martin Talk with Jack Gulvin Location: Purple Martin Houses just north of the Sports Club |
Friday, July 12 | 9:00AM Nature Walk with Jack Gulvin Location: Smith Wilkes Hall patio
12:30PM Gardening the Waterfront Location: Ryan Kiblin Stormwater Park and Fletcher Hall Garden Walk led by Betsy Burgeson |
BTG Commemorative Plate Updates
Pre-Ordered Plate Pick-up
Pre-ordered plates can be picked up:
Sundays 12:00 - 1:30PM on the patio behind Smith Wilkes Hall
Tuesdays 12:00-1:00PM on the patio behind Smith Wilkes Hall
TOUR DAY: Thursday July 11th 12-5PM on the patio behind Smith Wilkes Hall
Plate Purchase Times & Locations
Additional plates are available! Plates can be purchased for $50 each or $535 a dozen. Supplies are limited.
Sundays 12-1:30PM at the BTG Table in Bestor Plaza during the Chautauqua Activity Fairs
Tuesdays 12-1PM at our Brown Bag Lectures at Smith Wilkes Hall
TOUR DAY: Thursday July 11th 12-5PM at the Hospitality Table in Miller Park
On our website
House & Garden Tour Tickets
July 11, 2024
House & Garden Tour tickets are still available! Tickets can be purchased (and pre-ordered tickets can be picked-up) at the following times and locations:
Tuesday, July 9th from 12-1:00PM at Smith Wilkes Hall during the BTG Brown Bag Lectures
TOUR DAY: Thursday July 11th from 7:00AM-1:00PM at the BTG Welcome Table located in the Pedestrian Tunnel at the Main Gate
above: chairs on the porch at 42 South Lake Drive
Week Two In Photos
 | Our second Brown Bag of 2024: Mark Wenzler, Director of Climate Change Initiative, Janice Overbeck, Co-Director and Co-Producer of The Last Bumblebee, Heather Holm, Honorary Director of Wild Ones, and Jennifer Francois, BTG VP of Programs |
Jack Gulvin holds baby martins at the Purple Martin Chat on Thursday, dispelling what he says is the "biggest myth out there - that if you handle a baby bird, its mother will reject it. Simply not true." |  |
 | BTG Board Members Cesca Koron, Susy Warren, and Leslie Renjilian selling plates and House & Garden Tour Tickets at the Sunday Activities Fair. PLUS, we welcomed two new Life Members to the fold! |
Betsy's Blue Shirts getting after the weeds in the Shipman Gardens at Miller Cottage on Wednesday. The gardens have been looking great all season, but they will really shine on Thursday for hundreds of visitors on the House & Garden Tour! |  |
 | A forest bather walks through the Secret Silo Garden on Thursday morning. |
Kate Mayberry leads the Thursday Morning Forest Bathing. In case you were worried, this is a clothes-on activity. Learn more by clicking this link. |  |