Goldenseal
Hydrastis canadensis
Native Americans used the brilliant yellow rhizome not only as a diverse medicine, but also as a highly prized natural dye for clothing and body paint.
- Scientific name
- Hydrastis canadensis
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Ranunculales › Ranunculaceae › Hydrastis
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- decreasing
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Rich, moist, undisturbed deciduous forests, particularly on slopes and in shady coves.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (synthesizes energy from sunlight, water, and soil minerals)
- Range
- Eastern United States, Southeastern Canada
- Size
- 15 to 50 cm tall, with palmately lobed leaves reaching up to 25 cm wide.
- Lifespan
- Perennial; individual rhizomes can live for over 20 to 30 years.
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Poaching and overharvesting for the commercial herbal medicine trade, habitat fragmentation, and competition from invasive plant species.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless to touch. Do not wild-harvest or ingest, as the plant contains toxic alkaloids (berberine and hydrastine) that can cause distress. Admire it from the trail to avoid trampling delicate forest soils. If accidentally ingested, seek medical assistance.
Goldenseal ( Hydrastis canadensis ), also called orangeroot or yellow puccoon , is a perennial herb in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to southeastern Canada and the eastern United States. It may be distinguished by its thick, yellow knotted rootstock. The stem is purplish and hairy above ground and yellow below ground where it connects to the yellow rhizome. The plant bears two palmate, hairy leaves with 5–7 double-toothed lobes and single, small, inconspicuous flowers with greenish white stamens...
Photo: no rights reserved, CC0, via iNaturalist
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