''Caulophyllum'' is a small

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of perennial herbs belonging to the family

Berberidaceae The Berberidaceae are a family of 18 genera of flowering plants commonly called the barberry family. This family is in the order Ranunculales. The family contains about 700 known species, of which the majority are in '' Berberis''. The species ...

and closely related to the Eurasian genera

Leontice ''Leontice'' is a group of perennial, tuberous herbs in the Berberidaceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. Species , Plants of the World Online accepted four species: *'' Leontice armeniaca'' Belanger - Armenia, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon ...

and

Gymnospermium ''Gymnospermium'' is a group of tuberous flowering plants in the barberry family The Berberidaceae are a family of 18 genera of flowering plants commonly called the barberry family. This family is in the order Ranunculales. The family c ...

. It is native to eastern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

and eastern North America. These plants are distinctive spring wildflowers, which grow in moist, rich woodland, it is known for its large triple-

compound leaf A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

, and large blue, berry-like

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

s. Unlike many spring wildflowers, it is not an ephemeral plant and persists throughout much of the summer. Common names for plants in this genus include blue cohosh, squaw root, and papoose root. As hinted at by its common names, this plant is well known as an

alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and ...

for inducing

childbirth Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million births glo ...

and menstrual flow; it is also considered a

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

ous plant.Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases
/ref>

Description

These large, smooth plants (0.3–0.9 m tall) have a single to few

stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushr ...

s with each stem bearing normally one, but on large stems two, large triple-compound leaves which the casual observer might assume to be several smaller leaves arranged on three separate branches. Each leaflet ends in three to five distinct tips. Plants produce underground stems called rhizomes that give rise to the leaves each spring and in the fall when the foliage dies back a scar is left on the rhizome and a new bud is formed that will grow into the foliage next spring. Plants are long lived and can live for more than 50 years. They are found in wooded locations with moisture retentive soils. In April or May, each mature stem bears a spike of

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

s. Each flower has six petal-like

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...

s which range from greenish-yellow to purple. The different rates of maturity between the

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s and the

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) '' pis ...

ensure

cross pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds ...

. There are six fleshy nectar glands at the base of each

which attract pollinators. Each fertilized flower matures into a large (1 cm) deep-blue berry-like fruit which houses two bitter

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

s. The large seeds are covered with a characteristic blue coat, and the fruits remain on the plants until fall. Seed germination can take a few years, and the seedlings are

hypogeal Hypogeal, hypogean, hypogeic and hypogeous (; ) are biological terms describing an organism's activity below the soil surface. In botany, a seed is described as showing hypogeal germination when the cotyledons of the germinating seed remain no ...

, with the cotyledons remaining underground after germination and seedling emergence. The seedlings need a few years of growth before they are large enough to flower.

Species

All species in this genus are very similar. Until recently, this genus was considered to be composed of only two species, however the

Flora of North America The ''Flora of North America North of Mexico'' (usually referred to as ''FNA'') is a multivolume work describing the native plants and naturalized plants of North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and a ...

recognizes ''Caulophyllum giganteum'', as a distinct species rather than a subspecies of ''Caulophyllum thalictroides''. ''Caulophyllum giganteum'' is slightly larger, has a more northerly (but overlapping) distribution, and blooms two weeks earlier than ''Caulophyllum thalictroides''. ''Caulophyllum giganteum'' also has fewer flowers, that are consistently purplish. *''

Caulophyllum thalictroides ''Caulophyllum thalictroides'', the blue cohosh, a species of '' Caulophyllum'' (family Berberidaceae) is a flowering plant in the Berberidaceae (barberry) family. It is a medium-tall perennial with blue berry-like fruits and bluish-green foliage ...

'' – Blue cohosh (E. North America) *'' Caulophyllum giganteum'' – Giant blue cohosh (E. North America) *'' Caulophyllum robustum'' – Asian blue cohosh (Japan, E. Asia)

Uses

Caulophyllum spp. have been used for various (mainly medicinal) purposes from early times. The three species in the genus are generally considered to possess similar properties.Plants for a Future Database: Caulophyllum thalictroides
/ref> This plant is occasionally used in

woodland garden A woodland garden is a garden or section of a garden that includes large trees and is laid out so as to appear as more or less natural woodland, though it is often actually an artificial creation. Typically it includes plantings of flowering shru ...

s as an ornamental. Children should not be allowed to eat the attractive blue fruits, as these plants contain chemicals that are known to cause

cell damage Cell damage (also known as cell injury) is a variety of changes of stress that a cell suffers due to external as well as internal environmental changes. Amongst other causes, this can be due to physical, chemical, infectious, biological, nutrition ...

. The powdered roots have been shown to cause

dermatitis Dermatitis is inflammation of the skin, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened. The area of skin involved can ...

and irritation of the

mucous membrane A mucous membrane or mucosa is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body of an organism and covers the surface of internal organs. It consists of one or more layers of epithelial cells overlying a layer of loose connective tissue. It i ...

Food

Historically, the roasted seeds have been used as a

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

substitute; this beverage does not contain

caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine t ...

Medicine

Historically the root of ''Caulophyllum'' has been used as a medicine for:

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

, internal

parasites Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...

smooth muscle Smooth muscle is an involuntary non- striated muscle, so-called because it has no sarcomeres and therefore no striations (''bands'' or ''stripes''). It is divided into two subgroups, single-unit and multiunit smooth muscle. Within single-unit ...

function,

spasm A spasm is a sudden involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ such as the bladder. A spasmodic muscle contraction may be caused by many medical conditions, including dystonia. Most commonly, it is a muscle ...

diuretic A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics in ...

menstruation Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized by the rise and fall of ...

, and

. It is best known for the latter two uses. Various Native American tribes are also recorded as having used this plant for similar medicinal purposes.Native American Ethnobotany Database by D. Moerman
/ref> While no current widely marketed medicines are based on this plant, modern

herbalist Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies ...

s and practitioners of

still utilize this plant as a natural therapy. Research on the medicinal potentials of this plant are ongoing.

Gallery

File:Caulophyllum giganteum SCA-01295.jpg, C. giganteum, young foliage and flower

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2671028 Berberidaceae Berberidaceae genera Flora of the Eastern United States Plants used in traditional Native American medicine