Bright blue berries stand out against large lobed leaves and the trunk of a tree
A purplish-green plant with flower buds emerges from the decaying leaves on the forest floor.
An umbel of greenish-yellow flowers with five rounded petals are above the green foliage. Decaying leaves on the forest floor are in the background..
A group of small green berries against large lobed leaves in the background.
Large, blue, waxy coated berries are sitting on a plate.
A young blue cohosh with three sets of leaves is viewed from above.
Bright blue berries stand out against large lobed leaves and the trunk of a tree
A purplish-green plant with flower buds emerges from the decaying leaves on the forest floor.
An umbel of greenish-yellow flowers with five rounded petals are above the green foliage. Decaying leaves on the forest floor are in the background..
A group of small green berries against large lobed leaves in the background.
Large, blue, waxy coated berries are sitting on a plate.
A young blue cohosh with three sets of leaves is viewed from above.

Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides)

$11.00

Blue Cohosh emerges from the forest floor like bluish-purple alien fingers. The flowers are green-yelow and in small clusters. Leaves have lobes similar to the meadow rues (and thus the species epithet “thalictroides”).

Once flowers have been pollinated, green “berries” develop. They are actually seeds with a berry-like covering. At first they are round and green with a waxy cover and then they eventually turn bright blue by late summer. The the seeds are held higher than the bushy foliage and easily contrast from the green. The look can be quite stunning depending on the light in the woods.

Blue cohosh tends to spread in a fertile woodland by seed and slowly by rhizome. It is a long-lived plant. Seeds are toxic and should never be eaten by humans.

This plant is slow to germinate and grow, growing underground the first year and only pushing up to the surface of the soil the second or third year.

Companion Plants: twinleaf, wild ginger, false Solomon’s seal, may apple, false rue anemone, zig zag goldenrod

Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides)

Michigan Flora reference page for state distribution: Blue Cohosh

height: 1-2 feet

bloom time: April-May

soil: medium, rich

sun: partial, shade

plant spacing: 15”

flower: yellow

life cycle: perennial

family: Berberidaceae

Seed source: Michigan

Blue Cohosh emerges from the forest floor like bluish-purple alien fingers. The flowers are green-yelow and in small clusters. Leaves have lobes similar to the meadow rues (and thus the species epithet “thalictroides”).

Once flowers have been pollinated, green “berries” develop. They are actually seeds with a berry-like covering. At first they are round and green with a waxy cover and then they eventually turn bright blue by late summer. The the seeds are held higher than the bushy foliage and easily contrast from the green. The look can be quite stunning depending on the light in the woods.

Blue cohosh tends to spread in a fertile woodland by seed and slowly by rhizome. It is a long-lived plant. Seeds are toxic and should never be eaten by humans.

This plant is slow to germinate and grow, growing underground the first year and only pushing up to the surface of the soil the second or third year.

Companion Plants: twinleaf, wild ginger, false Solomon’s seal, may apple, false rue anemone, zig zag goldenrod

Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides)

Michigan Flora reference page for state distribution: Blue Cohosh

height: 1-2 feet

bloom time: April-May

soil: medium, rich

sun: partial, shade

plant spacing: 15”

flower: yellow

life cycle: perennial

family: Berberidaceae

Seed source: Michigan

There is another species in Michigan called Giant Blue Cohosh. The best time of year to tell these plants apart is early spring when giant blue cohosh pushes up and flowers are open before the leaves spread out. Flowers of this plant tend to be purplish. Giant blue cohosh is not as common as blue cohosh.