Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

Goldenseal is an erect, native perennial forb, growing 6 to 20 inches high on hairy unbranched stems. Stems may be reddish near the base and are usually greenish in the upper parts. Hairs on the stem are downward pointing. The plant has a long medicinal history - notes at bottom of page.

Leaves are of two types: One very small basal leaf that usually withers away by flowering time but is rarely seen in some plants after emergence, then there are usually two stem leaves that are spaced apart at the upper part of the stem, with the upper, without a stalk and placed just under the inflorescence, while the lower leaf is stalked. Both types have a similar shape - widely heart shaped, divided into 5 main lobes, (but could have up to 9 lobes) each lobe with coarse ragged teeth and an indented palmate vein structure on the upper surface. The leaf margins and veins are particularly hairy on both upper and under surface. Leaves are smaller before flowering, enlarging after the flowering and losing most surface hair as they age.

The inflorescence is a solitary flower at the top of the flowering stem, just above the upper leaf. Not all plants flower each year, but a flowering plant can produce multiple stems.

The flower is small, up to 3/4 inch wide when fully open. There are 3 sepals which fall away when the flower opens into an open ball shape formed with 40 to 50+ exserted stamens whose white filaments are abruptly flattened near the apex where the yellow-green anthers are; anthers have an oblong shape with obtuse tips. The central receptacle has 5 to 15 yellow-green pistils, each with a short style with a 2-lipped stigma. Petals are absent.

Seed: Flowers are fertilized by insects. The developing berry cluster resembles a raspberry, hence one of the common names - Ground Raspberry - green initially and by late July turning bright red, each berry of the cluster with a short beak and containing 1 or 2 shiny black ellipsoid shaped seeds, 2.5-4.5 mm in size, that weigh about 2,500 to the ounce.

Habitat: Goldenseal grows from a rhizome and tough fibrous roots. The rhizome is yellow inside - hence many of alternate common names. It is short on young plants and grows about an inch per year. The rhizome may propagate vegetatively but the main mechanism of propagation is by seed dispersal. Goldenseal grows best in dappled spring sunlight before tree leaf-out with 47 to 80% shade the remainder of the season. Moisture requirements are moist to mesic in sandy-loam soils rich in leaf mold. It can be a long-lived plant when undisturbed. The plant has few pest or disease problems. Seeding is best done in a flat with sand and peat moss mixed into the soil in the Autumn of the year. Fresh seed must be kept moist. Established plants can be dug, then separate the stems and place in a planting bed for a year before transplanting to a permanent spot.

Names: The genus Hydrastis, which has the Greek root hydor, meaning 'water', was confusingly applied to this plant due to the leaf's somewhat resemblance to plants of the Hydrophyllum genus. The species name, canadensis, means 'of Canada', the type locale of the plant. The author name for the plant classification, of 1759 - 'L.' refers to Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), Swedish botanist and the developer of the binomial nomenclature of modern taxonomy.

There is currently debate in the scientific circles as to whether Goldenseal should remain in the Ranunculaceae family or be assigned to its own family. Conclusion of this debate awaits a molecular study of several plant families. The common name of Goldenseal comes from the yellow scar, resembling an old letter seal, left on the rhizome by each years stem.

Comparisons: Other than the slight resemblance of the leaves to that of Virginia Waterleaf, Hydrophyllum, there are no other confusing species with such a red berry cluster and petal-less flowers.