Caulophyllum thalictroides

From the single stalk rising from the ground, there springs a single, large, three-branched leaf, giving rise to a yellow-flowered inflorescence, followed by bluish berries, coated with a glaucous, waxy bloom, somewhat similar in appearance to sloes. The bluish-green leaflets are three-lobed and entire at the base, but serrate at the tip. ==Habitat and distribution==

The plant is found in hardwood forests and favors moist coves and hillsides, generally in shady locations, in rich soil. It grows in eastern North America, from Manitoba and Oklahoma east to the Atlantic Ocean. ==Pollination==

The plant is pollinated early in the season by certain bee species, which are attracted by the nectar glands present on the petals. ==Uses==

The plant has been used as a medicinal herb by American Indians. Many Native American tribes, and later European herbologists and mid-wives, would use this herb in conjunction with other herbs and fluids for abortive and contraceptive purposes. The seeds have also reportedly been used a coffee substitute. ==Gallery==

File:American medicinal plants (Plate 16) (6025391079).jpg|Colored plate from Millspaugh’s American Medical Plants showing anatomical detail of flower and creeping rhizome File:Caulophyllum thalictroides 001.JPG|Mature clump of plant File:Caulophyllum thalictroides.jpg|Inflorescence of green-flowered form File:Caulophyllum thalictroides 3, Blue Cohosh flower, Howard County, MD, Helen Lowe Metzman 2017-05-08-16.30 (35387308242).jpg|Close-up of single flower and flower bud (green-flowered form) Caulophyllum_thalictroides_002.JPG|Inflorescence of purplish-green-flowered form File:Blue Cohosh - Caulphyllum thalictroides, Turkey Run Park, McLean, Virginia.jpg|Detail of inflorescence of purplish-green-flowered form, showing single flower full-face File:Caulophyllum thalictroides.jpeg|Young, flowering shoot of deep-purple-flowered form (leaves still tightly furled) File:Caulophyllum thalictroides, 2021-04-08, Trillium Trail, 01.jpg|Lateral view of young inflorescence of purple-flowered form (flowers three-quarter-face) File:Caulophyllum thalictroides, 2021-04-08, Trillium Trail, 02.jpg|Single flower (full-face), flower buds and still furled young foliage of purple-flowered form File:Caulophyllum thalictroides SCA-03872.jpg|Unripe berries and mature foliage File:Caulophyllum thalictroides kz1.jpg|Infructescence, bearing three ripe berries and many tiny, green, undeveloped fruit (lateral view) File:Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) - Flickr - wackybadger (1).jpg|Ripe berries of infructescence, viewed from above File:Thalictrum tuberiferum and Thalictrum aquilegiifolium var. intermedium.JPG|Two Thalictrum species, showing the foliage referenced in the specific name ofC. thalictroides ==Toxicity==

When used in high doses as an abortifacient, symptoms similar to nicotine poisoning can occur. These are not limited to nausea and emesis, headache, dizziness, muscle fasciculations, tachycardia, tachypnea, hypertension seizure, and respiratory failure. == Chemical composition ==

The root contains essential fatty acids, glucosides, phytosterols, saponins, and resinous essential oil. Blue cohosh contains the plant alkaloid N-methylcytisine, which is a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist ==See also==