Featured Herb Woodland's Rattle Black Cohosh by Karen Andrew If you are lucky to live near a wood, a walk in the early spring may reward you with a glimpse of emerging red shoots, curled under like fiddleheads. This is the black cohosh. These delicate shoots gradually turn green as the leaflets unfurl and, by early summer, the leaves will have turned a dark green. From this leafy base, flowering wands with few leaves shoot 1-2 metres high and, by late June, feathery plumes of small white blossoms droop gracefully on the tall stalks. This dramatic display lasts 2-3 weeks as the flowers open from the bottom to the top. By fall, seedpods appear, weighing down the stems. When the seeds are ripe, they rattle inside the capsules. At this point they can be cut for use in dried flower arrangements. Black cohosh, native to North America, grows in moist shady woodlands. Common names include: rattle box (remember those seedpods), black snake root, squaw root, and bugbane. It adapts readily to gardens (zones 4-7) thriving in the shade but also performing well in the sun, given enough moisture. Clumps may be grown, undisturbed for many years, once established. To raise plants from seed, like other members of the buttercup family (ranunculaceae), a short period of moist warmth (20 degrees C) followed by a longer period of moist cold (5 degrees C) is required for germination. Sow the seeds in flats outside, where they will be naturally stratified over the winter. Use a mix of equal parts of peat, perlite, and sand, then top off with a light covering of sand. | |
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