Contents:
Common Names | Parts Usually Used | Plant(s) & Culture | Where Found | Medicinal Properties | Biochemical Information
Legends, Myths and Stories | Uses | Formulas or Dosages | How Sold | Warning | Resource Links | Bibliography
Scientific Names
- Cimicifuga racemosa L.
- Ranunculaceae
- Buttercup family
Common Names
- Black cohush
- Black snakeroot
- Bugbane
- Bugwort
- Cimicifuga
- Rattleroot
- Rattleweed
- Richweed
- Snakeroot
- Squawroot
Parts Usually Used
Rootstock
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture
A tall growing, unpleasantly scented, woodland perennial plant, 3-8 feet high. The large creeping, knotty rootstock, scarred with the remains of old growth, produces a stem of up to 9 feet in height. Large compound leaves thrice-divided; sharply toothed; terminal leaflet 3-lobed, middle lobe is the largest. Small, fetid, flowers are white and strong smelling, in very long, slender, fluffy, spikes, terminating tall leafy stalks, each flower has numerous white stamens and no petals; May to September. Tufts of stamens conspicuous. Flowers ultimately give way to small, round seed pods with several seeds. When the stalk is shaken, the seeds rattle within their pods, producing a sound similar to a rattlesnake, thus the nickname “rattleroot”. Grown in shade or full sun, but is grown more vigorously in the sun. Zones 3-10. Not heat-tolerant. Wiry stems with divided dark green leaves and wandlike racemes of white flowers is very showy.
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Where Found
Rich upland woods, hillsides and woods at higher elevations. Southern Ontario to Georgia; Missouri to Wisconsin. Native of North America.
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Medicinal Properties
Alterative, astringent, diuretic, alterative, diaphoretic, emmenagogue (starts menstrual flow), expectorant, antirheumatic, antispasmodic, cardiac stimulant (safer than digitalis), anti-inflammatory, sedative, antitussive, uterine stimulant
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Biochemical Information
Actaeine, cimicifungin (macrotin), estrogenic substances, isoferulic acid, oleic acid, palmitic acid, phosphorus, recemosin, tannins, starch, gum, triterpenes, and
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Legends, Myths and Stories
Cimicifuga (C. racemosa) comes from the Latin “to drive away”, so named because certain species are used to drive away bugs and other insects.
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Uses
Insoluble in water. Tincture used for bronchitis, chorea, menstrual irregularities, stimulates kidney, restores digestive system to normal, fever, nervous disorders, chorea (St. Vitus’ Dance), lumbago, rheumatism, measles, scarlet fever, smallpox. Traditionally important for “female ailments”, painful menses and helps in labor and delivery during childbirth. Research has confirmed estrogenic, hypoglycemic, sedative, and anti-inflammatory activity. Applied as poultice to wounds.
Helps relieve sinusitis, persistent coughs, bronchitis, whooping cough, headache, and asthma. Lowers cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Relives pain, palpitations, panic attacks, relieves muscle spasms, neuralgia, morning sickness, and menstrual cramps. Helpful for poisonous bites. Can be used as an antidote for the venom of snakebites. Reduces mucus levels. The liquid obtained from boiling the roots can be used to treat diarrhea in children.
Combined with skullcap, wood betony, passionflower, and valerian, black cohosh works as a mild tranquilizer.
Black cohosh has the same effects on the female system as synthetic estrogen, without the side effects. Best of all, Black cohosh has no cancer causing agents like synthetic estrogen.
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Formulas or Dosages
Collect the rootstock in the fall, after the leaves have died down and the fruit has appeared.
Decoction: boil
Fluid extract: a dose is from
Tincture: made by half-filling a pint or quart bottle with the powdered root, adding diluted alcohol (not rubbing alcohol) or whisky until the bottle is full, and agitating once or twice a day for two weeks. Doses range from
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How Sold
Capsules: take
Extract
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Warning
This plant must only be used in small quantities since strong or large doses cause nausea and vomiting, symptoms of poisoning.
Avoid during pregnancy until labor and only under supervision of a doctor.
Do not take if any type of chronic disease is present.
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Resource Links
LiveStrong.com: Medical Information About Black Cohosh
LiveStrong.com: Black Cohosh During Pregnancy
University of Maryland Medical Center: Black Cohosh
National Center for Complementary and Altenative Medicine: Black Cohosh
American Academy of Family Physicians: Black Cohosh
National Institute of Health: Black Cohosh
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Medical Center: Black Cohosh
National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements: Black Cohosh
PubMed.gov: Alternative and complementary therapies for the menopause.
Bibliography
Back to Eden
The Herb Book
The Herbalist Almanac
Earl Mindell’s Herb Bible
Indian Herbalogy of North America
Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants
Herbal Gardening, compiled by The Robison York State Herb Garden, Cornell Plantations, Matthaei Botanical Gardens of the University of Michigan, University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley., Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition
The Complete Medicinal Herbal
Planetary Herbology
American Folk Medicine
Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Fifth Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements
Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary
Webster’s New World Dictionary
An Instant Guide to Medicinal Plants
The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine
A Useful Guide to Herbal Health Care
The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book)
