Blue Cohosh
Caulophyllum thalictroides. Barberry Family.
Stems.--One to two and a half feet high. Leaf.--Large; divided into many-lobed leaflets; often a smaller one at the base of the flower-cluster. Flowers.--Yellowish-green; clustered at the summit of the stem; appearing while the leaf is still small. Calyx.--Of six sepals; with three or four small bractlets at base. Corolla.--Of six thick, somewhat kidney-shaped or hooded petals, with short claws. Stamens.--Six. Pistil.--One. Fruit.--Bluish; berry-like.
In the deep rich woods of early spring, especially westward, may be found the clustered flowers and divided leaf of the blue cohosh. The generic name is from two Greek words signifying stem and leaf, "the stems seeming to form a stalk for the great leaf." (Gray.)