Actaea cordifolia
(aka: Cimicifuga rubifolia) This wonderful rare native (globally rare ranking of G3) from Virginia west to Tennessee has languished in taxonomic purgatory under a parade of invalid names. Unlike other bugbanes, there are only nine glossy leaflets per leaf on Actaea cordifolia, which are held on a 45 degree angled stem ending about 2′ from the ground. The 4′ tall, upright, branched terminal spikes end in finger-like clusters of small white flowers that top the plant in September. Although Actaea cordifolia prefers alkaline soils, it has grown well in our slightly acid amended woodland soil.
