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Appalachian Black Cohosh

Actaea rubifolia

Found in rich cove forests over calcareous rocks (limestone or dolostone), westwards in shaded sandstone ravines. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

31
Good

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 59%

Height
Up to about 5 feet
Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial

Not yet recorded · Spread · Light · Soil · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 3 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Rich cove forests

Cove hardwood forest
Regional / representative. Shown: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpoint, a neighboring state.Cove hardwood forest, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

Moist forests

Shortia beneath rhododendrons in mountain woodland
Regional / representative. Shown: Mountains of North and South Carolina; exact site not identified, a neighboring state.Shortia beneath rhododendrons in mountain woodland, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 110 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Actaea

  • Celastrina neglectaSummer Azure
  • Celastrina neglectamajorAppalachian Azure, Appalachian Blue
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Ranunculaceae
Flower color
White
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Appalachian Bugbane

Conservation status

Virginia rankS1
Global rankNot available
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources