Bugbane

Bugbane (Cimicifuga) - Plants of the Crowfoot order, nearly allied to the Baneberry. They are tall, handsome, herbaceous plants. C. cordifolia attains 3 to 4 feet high, giving erect feathery plumes of whitish flowers. It is a good border plant. C. racemosa (Black Snakeroot), 3 to 8 feet high, with feathery racemes of white blossoms 1 to 3 feet long, which, being slender, droop gracefully; but the plants generally are not of much garden value. They are of easy culture in rich soil, and may be used as groups in the wild garden. The flowers have an offensive odour. Division. N. America and Asia. C. simplex, from Japan, is one of the most elegant, the flowers pure white in erect spikes. September.