States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaArkansasFloridaLouisianaMississippiVirginiaWest Virginia
Menu

Common Blue Cohosh

Caulophyllum thalictroides

Found in rich forests. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

24
Good

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

Profile 94%

Height
1–2 feet
Spread
6 inches–1 foot
Light
Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 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
April to May
Fruiting season
July to August

Recorded in 57 Virginia counties and cities.

Natural habitats

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

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. 113 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Caulophyllum

  • Clepsis melaleucanusBlack-Patched Clepsis, Trillium Tortrix
  • Crocigrapha normaniNorman's Quaker
  • Eugonobapta nivosariaSnowy Geometer
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Beetles 2
  • Idiostethus subcalvus
  • Mordellistena biplagiata

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Flies 7
  • Chilosia petulca
  • Chlorops assimilis
  • Dynatosoma thoracicum
  • Morellia micans
  • Mydaea socialis
  • Rhamphomyia piligeronis
  • Rhingia nasica

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Other wasps 3
  • Bracon trifolii
  • Bracon vernoniae
  • Dacnusa flavicincta

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants · Adult butterflies / moths · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Berberidaceae
Hardiness
Zones 3a–8b
Soil pH
Acidic to alkaline
Flower color
Yellow or green
Growth rate
Moderate
Growth habit
Several stems
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
July
Fruit ends
August

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Blue Cohosh

Conservation status

Virginia rankS4S5
Global rankG4G5 [G5]
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

Choose a county to begin.

How to check your spot

Growing cautions

For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.

Sources