Growing mostly on hillsides and open woods in moist rich soil.
Cultivation is fairly easy in shady moist soil with good drainage.
The plant grows to about 8 feet tall and bears a handsome long plumb of white flowers from June to August. The leaves are pinnate and compound with irregular tooth leaflets. The rootstock is knotty and scared with old growth. The rhizome of the root is black and rough, cohosh is a Native American word for rough hence Black Cohosh. Gather the rootstock in the fall after the fruit has formed.