Its shape is reminiscent of Ginseng root. The simple stems range from 3 to 30 inches high, rising from the apex of a blunt tuber-like rhizome from one half to one and a half inches thick. The leaves are from 2 to 15 inches long, and are net veined and somewhat mottled.

It is antiseptic, astringent, and tonic expectorant, being used principally in hemorrhages, and to promote parturition. Externally, it is usually used in the form of a poultice, as a local irritant in skin diseases, or to restrain gangrene.

Graceful, towering plant when in bloom with a height of 3-6 feet and a width of 2 feet. The rhizome is thick, hard, knotty, with short branches and a bitter, acrid taste. It blooms July to August and is native to Canada and the eastern US.

Black cohosh has estrogenic effects, meaning it acts like the female sex hormone estrogen. This may lend support to its traditional use for menstrual complaints. It is thought to reduce levels of pituitary luteinizing hormone, thereby decreasing the ovaries' production of progesterone. Black cohosh is used to optimize estrogen levels perhaps by competing with estrogen receptor sites when estrogen is overabundant but may promote estrogen production when estrogen is low. It promotes fertility and softens the impact of menopause. Using back cohosh during menopause can reduce intensity and frequency of hot flashes, support and ease the body's changes, and help counteract menopausal prolapses. WARNING: DO NOT USE DURING PREGNANCY UNLESS RECOMMENDED BY YOUR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL.