Black Cohosh
Actaea racemosa
Found in rich cove forests, other moist and moderately to very fertile forests. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 4–7 feet
- Spread
- 2–4 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Space about 3 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 11 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- May to August
- Fruiting season
- Summer
Recorded in 84 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 113 animals.
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Yellow-rumped WarblerDendroica coronata
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbula
- Barred OwlStrix varia
Who uses this plant?
2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Actaea
- Celastrina neglectaSummer Azure
- Celastrina neglectamajorAppalachian Azure, Appalachian Blue
3BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Actaea
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Actaea
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Ranunculaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–8b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- White
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Summer
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
- Fruit ends · “Summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “4–7 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- primary_flower_color · “white” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “2–4 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Actaea racemosa var. racemosa; Black Snakeroot; Cimicifuga racemosa
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G3G4 [G5] |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications