What is Black Cohosh ?Black Cohosh - A Lady's Herb.

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Narrative History of Black cohosh.

Black Cohosh,Cimicifuga racemosa.Triterpene Glycoside CAS.NO:84776-26-1.Black Cohosh Extract.Triterpene Glycoside,Cimicifugoside.M.F.:C37H54O11.CAS No.66176-93-0;Actein.M.F.C37H56O11.CAS No.18642-44-9;Black Cohosh Root Extract,Cimicifuga racemosa photo picture image
 Black cohosh is native to eastern North America, where it is found growing in shady woods in the United States and Canada. Black cohosh is a tall (9 feet high) herbaceous plant, and grows up on a stout, blackish rhizome (not radix, or true root), which are hard, cylindrical, and knotty. The white flowers of black cohosh produce unpleasant smell, and bloom on feathery racemes, which is long (up to 3 feet) and slender.
 Origins:Black cohosh is a member of the buttercup family found in rich woods of the eastern deciduous forest from southern Ontario south to Georgia, west to Arkansas, north to Wisconsin. This perennial woodland plant likes the deep shade of moist hillsides, the home of other important medicinal plans such as goldenseal and ginseng. It has robust, three-divided leaves, with three-lobed terminal leaflets. The middle lobe of the sharply-toothed leaflets is the largest. The plant is little-noticed until it sends up its tall spikes of showy white flowers, three to eight feet tall. Petals are not to be seen; the chief feature is tufts of conspicuous stamens surrounding the pistil in the center. In begins blooming in May in the southern part of its range, continuing to flower into September in more northerly regions.
 Black cohosh was first described by botanists in 1705. By 1732, it had been introduced into English gardens as a hardy ornamental perennial. To this day, it is more widely grown in European gardens than in America. The root is the part of the plant used in herbal traditions. Most of the root is wild-harvested, while some is grown commercially in Europe.
 The genus Cimicifuga includes eighteen species, one of which is native to Europe, six from North America, and the remainder from northeast Asia. Collectively, they are commonly known as bugbanes, primarily referring to the single native European species, C. europaea and an Asian representative C. foetida, which have strong, unpleasant smelling herbage, earning it a reputation as an insect-repelling plant. The genus name Cimicifuga, itself, honors this olfactory observation. It comes from the Latin cimex meaning bug (specifically the bed bug Cimex lectularius) and fugare "to drive-away" in reference to the insect-repelling attributes. These species are also known by the names bugwort or bugbane. They have been used independently as insect repellents throughout their extensive ranges from India to western Europe to eastern Siberia. The herbage of the American black cohosh does not possess a strong odor.
 Native Americans used the rhizome of black cohosh to treat various ailments including kidney problems, sore throat, malaria, and rheumatism, and women's problems such as menstrual irregularity. Black cohosh and blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) have been the favorite herbs for gynecological complaints among native Americans, just like dong quai (or dang gui; Angelica sinensis, a.k.a. lady's ginseng) and licorice have been favorite herbs for women in China and Korea.
 Also called bugbane, black cohosh is native to the eastern woodlands of North America. Primarily wildcrafted for its root, it is an increasingly popular treatment for menopausal symptoms.It is possible to confuse this plant with other similar species. White baneberry or doll's eyes (Actaea pachypoda) occupies a similar habitat and looks very much like black cohosh. Studies have shown this plant to have toxic effects.
 Black cohosh consists of the underground parts (rhizome and roots) of the showy North American forest plant Cimicifuga racemosa (L.) Nutt., family Ranunculaceae. The plant's common names are numerous and include black snakeroot, rattleweed, rattleroot, bugbane, bugwort, and squaw root (not to be confused with blue cohosh). The genus Cimicifuga contains twenty-three temperate climate species: six from North America, one in Europe, the remainder from temperate eastern Asia. Similar to black cohosh, several Asian species are traditionally used for gynecological conditions.
 History, Black cohosh and blue cohosh have been the favorite herbs for gynecological complaints among native Americans. Black cohosh was adapted and used by early settlers and medical professionals, mostly for rheutamtoid ailments, and women's menstrual stress and nervous tension. As an effective herb for reducing menopause-related symptoms, black cohosh is one of the biggest sellers among herbs in the US today. Black cohosh and blue cohosh are two main constituents of DreamPharms's product Natural Wonder Woman.

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citations1.What is Black Cohosh ?Black Cohosh - A Lady's Herb.

last edit date:28th,April.2009.