{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{Speciesbox |image = Actaea elata elata 297578784.jpg |status = G3 |status_system = TNC |genus = Actaea (plant) |species = elata |authority = (Nutt.) Prantl |synonyms = *''Cimicifuga elata'' |}}
'''''Actaea elata'''''<ref name=itis>[https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=821144 ''Actaea elata''.] Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).</ref><ref name=usda>[https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=acel4 ''Actaea elata''.] USDA PLANTS Profile.</ref><ref name=grin>{{GRIN | accessdate = 21 January 2018}}</ref><ref name=ns>[http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Actaea+elata ''Actaea elata''.]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} NatureServe. 2012.</ref> (syn. ''Cimicifuga elata'')<ref name=burke>[http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php?Genus=Cimicifuga&Species=elata ''Cimicifuga elata''.] Burke Museum of History and Culture. University of Washington. 2013.</ref><ref name=fna>[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500377 ''Cimicifuga elata''.] Flora of North America.</ref> is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common name '''tall bugbane'''. It is native to the Pacific Northwest of North America, where it can be found in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon.<ref name=usda/><ref name=ns/><ref name=burke/><ref name=fna/>
==Description== This species is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial reaching a maximum height around 1.8 meters. It is hairy in texture, with some glandular hairs. The leaves are made up of many lobed, toothed leaflets which resemble maple leaves in shape. The inflorescence is a branching panicle up to 17 centimeters long. The panicle bears many flowers, each with five white or pink-tinged sepals, but no petals. The flower presents a spray of long white stamens. Blooming occurs from May<ref name=wnhp>[http://www1.dnr.wa.gov/nhp/refdesk/fguide/pdf/ciel.pdf ''Cimicifuga elata''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140831055550/http://www1.dnr.wa.gov/nhp/refdesk/fguide/pdf/ciel.pdf |date=2014-08-31 }} Washington Natural Heritage Program. Washington Department of Natural Resources. 1998.</ref> or June to August. The fruit is a flattened follicle up to 1.2 centimeters long.<ref name=fna/><ref name=wnhp/> The fruits are poisonous.<ref name=ell>Ellison, R. [http://courses.washington.edu/esrm412/protocols/ACEL4.pdf Plant Propagation Protocol for ''Actaea elata''.] University of Washington. April 18, 2012.</ref> The plant has an unpleasant scent.<ref name=fos>Foster, S. and C. Hobbs. ''Peterson Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs''. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. New York, NY. 2002. pg. 41.</ref>
==Habitat== This species grows in moist woods and forest habitat. It is mostly restricted to lower elevations and is more common on north-facing slopes. It is associated with the forest trees Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii''), bigleaf maple (''Acer macrophyllum''),<ref name=ns/> western redcedar (''Thuja plicata''), red alder (''Alnus rubra''), and vine maple (''Acer circinatum''), and other forest plants such as oceanspray (''Holodiscus discolor''), hazelnut (''Corylus cornuta''), sword fern (''Polystichum munitum''), and snowberry (''Symphoricarpos albus''). Alpine enchanter's nightshade ''(Circaea alpina)'', herb robert ''(Geranium robertianum)'', and wall lettuce ''(Lactuca muralis)'' are indicator species for the plant, often growing alongside it.<ref name=may>{{cite journal |last1=Mayberry |first1=Rachel J. |last2=Elle |first2=Elizabeth |title=Effects of forest structure and microhabitat on the distribution and flowering of a rare understory plant, ''Actaea elata'' |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |date=2009 |volume=258 |issue=7 |pages=1102–1109 |doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2009.05.042 |bibcode=2009ForEM.258.1102M |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378112709003867|url-access=subscription }}</ref> This species can dominate the forest understory where it is common.<ref name=hel>Helliwell, R. [http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/sfpnw/issssp/documents/inventories/inv-rpt-va-ciel-ump-ro-douglas-co-inventory-2011.pdf Tall Bugbane (''Cimicifuga elata'') Inventory in Douglas County, Oregon.] Report to the Interagency Special Status/Sensitive Species Program. FY2010 Inventory & Conservation Planning Project. January, 2011.</ref> The plant may be found in old-growth forests.<ref name=wnhp/> It prefers the shade of dense forests. It can tolerate some breaks in the canopy but not large-scale clearing, such as clearcutting. Some penetrating sunlight is beneficial for the plant during its reproductive season. Animals associated with the species include the mountain beaver (''Aplodontia rufa''), particularly in Canada. Depending on location, pollinators of the plant include bumblebees, other types of bees, beetles, and syrphid flies.<ref name=klink>Klinkenberg, B. and R. Klinkenberg. [http://www.geog.ubc.ca/~brian/publications/C_elata.pdf A Recovery Strategy for Tall Bugbane (''Cimicifuga elata'') in Canada.] BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection. March 31, 2003.</ref>
==Distribution== This species has a limited distribution in its range. Most occurrences are in southern Oregon, where the populations can be large. There are fewer occurrences in Washington.<ref name=ns/> In British Columbia, the plant is only known from the far southern regions of the province, near the Chilliwack River.<ref name=ebc>Klinkenberg, Brian, Ed. 2013. [http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Actaea%20elata ''Actaea elata''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318061502/http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Actaea%20elata |date=2018-03-18 }} E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.</ref> It is considered an endangered species in British Columbia.<ref name=scbc>[http://www.speciesatrisk.bc.ca/node/8014 Tall Bugbane.] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130628045057/http://www.speciesatrisk.bc.ca/node/8014 |date=2013-06-28 }} Stewardship Centre for British Columbia.</ref> There are ten known populations in British Columbia, making up less than 5% of the global population of the plant.<ref name=klink/>
In 2004 a new variety of the species was named and defined, var. ''alpestris''. This variety is endemic to southern Oregon and it differs from other members of its species by having scales along the lower stem, and often more pistils. It may also be found at higher elevations.<ref name=lee>{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Hyun-Woo |last2=Park |first2=Chong-Wook |title=New taxa of ''Cimicifuga'' (Ranunculaceae) from Korea and the United States |journal=Novon |date=2004 |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=180–184 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3393313 |jstor=3393313 }}</ref>
Threats to this species include processes that threaten its home ecosystems, such as the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest. Fire suppression, logging, road maintenance, and other forest disturbance, collection from the wild, and damage to pollinator populations can harm occurrences of the plant.<ref name=klink/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q15362375}} {{Authority control}}
elata Category:Flora of British Columbia Category:Flora of Washington (state) Category:Flora of Oregon Category:Taxa named by Thomas Nuttall Category:Plants described in 1838