Every spring I decide that I’m going to try some of the wild edibles or wild medicinals that I read about…  I rarely follow through.  After a cough that lingered for three weeks, though, I’m seriously considering trying to make up some Coltsfoot cough syrup and drops for next winter!  The instructions are simple and straightforward and the information from all sources seems consistent…  Not so for all herbs!

Google “Spring Beauty” and the top ten sites are botanical in nature.  Google “Blue Cohosh” and you’ll have to look carefully to find a botanical site.  Most listings are about the use of this plant for medicinal purposes…  And let me tell you:  I wouldn’t dare use it, based on what I read.  The Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs uses an exclamation point inside a triangle as a symbol that means Caution.  The symbol appears with the listing for Blue Cohosh.

Blue Cohosh has been used for a variety of female conditions, which is undoubtedly why it is also sometimes known as Squawroot or Papoose Root.  Advice on the Internet is contradictory.  Here’s a site that says you can use it during pregnancy:

It may be used at any time during pregnancy if there is a threat of miscarriage.  Similarly, because of its anti-spasmodic action, it will ease false labour pains and dysmenorrhoea. However, when labor does ensue, the use of Blue Cohosh just before birth will help ensure an easy delivery.  In all these cases it is a safe herb to use.  (source)

And here’s one that says you should not use it during pregnancy:

Native Americans used Blue Cohosh to induce labor. It should not be used in pregnancy prior to the ninth month.  (source)

Medicinal uses aside, Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) is a very interesting plant to watch at this time of year.  When it first pushes through the leaf litter, it is so dark purple it blends in with the shadows; you might walk right past it and not even notice.  For example, I was so delighted to find this little plant on my walk today, thinking it was sort of a loner on the side of the trail.  When I finished snapping a few shots, I discovered a huge patch of them on the other side of the trail.  They’re easy to miss!

As the leaves unfurl the dark purple gives way to a lovely bluish-green as shown below in a photo by Jeremy Martin:

In a month, they’ll look like this:

By July the berries will have set, and by autumn they will turn blue:

 
(Photo on right by Jeff Tome.)

To photograph this flower now, you will need to get down on your knees.  By the end of its season, it could be one to three feet tall.  It likes “rich” woods in the eastern and central parts of North America.

Do you use wild herbs?  Tell us about it!