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Actaea podocarpa

DC.

Mountain Bugbane

G4Apparently Secure Found in 14 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.144206
Element CodePDRAN07010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderRanunculales
FamilyRanunculaceae
GenusActaea
Synonyms
Cimicifuga americanaMichx.
Other Common Names
mountain bugbane (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Taxonomic Comments
Described as Cimicifuga americana by Michaux in 1803; moved to Actaea by de Candolle in 1817 where Actaea americana was previously occupied (by Pursh in 1813) so a new epithet was necessary: Actaea podocarpa DC. Phylogenetic analyses of Compton et al. (1998) support the inclusion of Cimicifuga within a monophyletic Actaea. Can be distinguished from Cimicifuga (Actaea) racemosa by the presence of a deep, broad groove on the upper side of lowest petiole (leaf stem) of this species.
Conservation Status
Review Date2000-01-03
Change Date2000-01-27
Edition Date2000-01-03
Edition AuthorsJohn R. Boetsch (1/00); rev. Eric Nielsen (1/00)
Range Extent20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 to >300
Rank Reasons
This species is a broad endemic to the southern and central Appalachians, known from a few hundred populations. Although no information was found regarding its targeted collection from wild populations, it seems to be facing incidental collection and subsequent decline due to its resemblance to the widely collected C. racemosa (Blakley pers. comm., Kauffman pers. comm., Suggs pers. comm.). It also appears to be facing specific habitat development pressure in mountainous areas (Dellinger pers. comm.).
Range Extent Comments
This species is primarily endemic to the southern and central Appalachian region, from northern Georgia to western Pennsylvania (Weakley 1996), and a disjunction to southern Illinois (USDA-NRCS 1999). There are also a few disjunct occurrences in some of the diabase outcrops in the piedmont of South Carolina (Pittman pers. comm.). It is known from one county in the Allegheny Plateau of Maryland (Frye pers. comm.).
Occurrences Comments
Rangewide, there are estimated to be fewer than 500 extant populations. Maryland: 10; North Carolina: 100 (Kauffman pers. comm.); South Carolina: 12; Tennessee: 50-100+ (Brumback and Mehrhoff 1996, APSU 1999).

Better recognition of this species is turning up additional occurrences formerly confused with C. racemosa, especially near the edge of the range of this species (Kunsman pers. comm., Pittman pers. comm.). But estimation of population numbers is made more difficult by the possibility of co-occurrence with the more common and widespread C. racemosa (Kauffman pers. comm.).
Threat Impact Comments
There is hearsay that, especially in western North Carolina, plants are wild-collected for the plant trade. Collection of this species is likely given the potential for confusion with C. racemosa (Blakley pers. comm., Suggs pers. comm.). No evidence was found of targeted collection of this species, though Kauffman (pers. comm.) indicated that an unknown proportion of the permitted harvest of C. racemosa in the Black Mountains on North Carolina is probably incidentally-collected C. americana.

The following information is for "black cohosh", Cimicifuga racemosa; however it is very likely given the location of collections that some of this material is in fact C. americana: USDA Forest Service collection permits, per Kauffman (pers. comm.): 1997 - 2200 lbs. (dry); 1998 - 12,000 lbs. (dry); 1999 - 2150 lbs. (dry); a recent case was made where a poacher was caught with approximately 500 lbs. (dry) on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina (Corbin pers. comm.).

Habitat conversion and development are significant direct threats (Dellinger pers. comm., Kauffman pers. comm., Kunsman pers. comm., Pittman pers. comm.). Equally significant threats include habitat fragmentation, and to a lesser degree displacement by exotic species.

Given its more specific siting requirements, this species may prove more difficult to cultivate than C. racemosa (Suggs pers. comm.).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This species is found in rich coves and rich northern hardwoods forests. It is restricted to elevations above approximately 2500 ft toward the southern end of its range (Dellinger pers. comm., Pittillo pers. comm.). In the northern portion of its range, it is found in cool, moist areas with northern hardwoods, occasionally with hemlock, typically on north-facing slopes or in wooded stream corridors (Kunsman pers. comm.). Outlying populations in the piedmont of South Carolina are in association with steep coves among diabase rock outcrops (Pittman pers. comm.).

Ecology

Transplanted individuals have been reported to survive a couple of decades (Pittillo pers. comm.).
Other Nations (1)
United StatesNNR
ProvinceRankNative
VirginiaS4Yes
GeorgiaS3Yes
IllinoisS1Yes
North CarolinaS4Yes
TennesseeSNRYes
MarylandS2Yes
PennsylvaniaS3Yes
West VirginiaS3Yes
KentuckyS5Yes
South CarolinaS1Yes
Plant Characteristics
Economic Value (Genus)Yes
Roadless Areas (14)
North Carolina (4)
AreaForestAcres
Balsam ConePisgah National Forest10,591
BearwallowPisgah National Forest4,113
Graveyard Ridge (addition)Pisgah National Forest1,958
Sam Knob (addition)Pisgah National Forest2,576
Virginia (3)
AreaForestAcres
Adams PeakGeorge Washington National Forest7,135
Mt. PleasantGeorge Washington National Forest8,933
Seng MountainJefferson National Forest6,428
West Virginia (7)
AreaForestAcres
Cheat MountainMonongahela National Forest8,191
Cranberry AdditionMonongahela National Forest11,123
Falls Of Hills CreekMonongahela National Forest6,925
Glady ForkMonongahela National Forest3,239
Mcgowan MountainMonongahela National Forest10,504
Tea Creek MountainMonongahela National Forest8,295
Turkey MountainMonongahela National Forest6,421
References (18)
  1. APSU Center for Field Biology and University of Tennessee Herbarium. 1999. October 6-last update. Atlas of Tennessee Vascular Plants. Online. Available: http://www.bio.utk.edu/botany/herbarium/vascular/atlas.html. Accessed 2000-Jan.
  2. Blakley, Tim. National Center for the Preservation of Medicinal Herbs, Rutland, OH.
  3. Brumback, W.E., and L.J. Mehrhoff. 1996. Flora Conservanda: New England. The New England Plant Conservation Program list of plants in need of conservation. Rhodora 98 (895): 235-361.
  4. Compton, J. A., A. Culham and S.L. Jury. 1998. Reclassification of <i>Actaea</i> to include <i>Cimicifuga</i> and <i>Souliea</i> (Ranunculaceae): phytogeny inferred from morphology, nrDNA ITS, and cpDNA trnL-F sequence variation. Taxon 47:593-634.
  5. Corbin, Jim. Plant Specialist, NC Department of Agriculture.
  6. Dellinger, Bob. GSMNP Fire Effects Biologist.
  7. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 1997. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 3. Magnoliophyta: Magnoliidae and Hamamelidae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiii + 590 pp.
  8. Frye, Chris. Maryland Heritage Program Botanist.
  9. International Plant Names Index (IPNI). 2024. Online. Available: http://www.ipni.org. (Accessed 2024).
  10. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  11. Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: Kartesz, J.T., and C.A. Meacham. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, N.C.
  12. Kauffman, Gary. Personal Communication. Botanist. USDA Forest Service, Nantahala National Forest, Highlands, NC.
  13. Kunsman, J. Botanist, Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory-East.
  14. Pittillo, J. Dan. Professor, Western Carolina University.
  15. Pittman, Bert. SC Heritage Program Botanist.
  16. Suggs, Robin. Executive Director, Yellow Creek Botanical Institute, Robbinsville, NC.
  17. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. 1999. November 3-last update. The PLANTS database. Online. Available: http://plants.usda.gov/plants. Accessed 2000-Jan.
  18. Weakley, A.S. 1996. Flora of the Carolinas and Virginia: working draft of 23 May 1996. The Nature Conservancy, Southeast Regional Office, Southern Conservation Science Dept., Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Unpaginated.