{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{Speciesbox |image = Aruncus dioicus 1549.JPG |image_caption = Inflorescence |genus = Aruncus |species = dioicus |authority = (Walter) Fernald }}
'''''Aruncus dioicus''''', known as '''goat's beard''', '''buck's-beard'''<ref name=BSBI07>{{BSBI 2007 |access-date=2014-10-17}}</ref> or '''bride's feathers''', is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the family Rosaceae, found in Europe, Asia, and eastern and western North America. It is the type species of the genus ''Aruncus''. It has alternate, pinnately compound leaves, on thin, stiff stems, with plumes of feathery white or cream flowers borne in summer.
The Latin specific epithet ''dioicus'' means "having the male reproductive organs on one plant, and the female on another".<ref name=RHSLG>{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=Lorraine |title=RHS Latin for Gardeners |year=2012 |publisher=Mitchell Beazley |location=United Kingdom |isbn=978-1845337315 }}</ref>
==Description== thumb|left|upright|The leaves are alternate and pinnately compound. Leaflets are sharply compoundly-serrate. The species is from {{convert |4|to |6|ft|m|order=flip}} tall, with compound leaves consisting of 3 or 5 leaflets. Very small, 5-petaled white or cream flowers are displayed in showy panicles, blooming in late spring to early summer. Male and female flowers are borne on different plants.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Denison |first1=Edgar |title=Missouri Wildflowers |date=2017 |publisher=Conservation Commission of the State of Missouri |isbn=978-1-887247-59-7 |pages=29 |edition=Sixth}}</ref> The flower spikes rise high above the plant, adding to the showiness of the species. Plants with male flowers have a showier bloom than the ones with female flowers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Aruncus dioicus - Plant Finder |url=https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=286433 |website=www.missouribotanicalgarden.org}}</ref>
== Varieties == * ''Aruncus dioicus'' var. ''aethusifolius'' <small>(H.Lév.) H.Hara</small> – Korean goatsbeard<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.forest.go.kr/kna/special/download/English_Names_for_Korean_Native_Plants.pdf |title=English Names for Korean Native Plants |publisher=Korea National Arboretum |year=2015 |isbn=978-89-97450-98-5 |location=Pocheon |pages=362 |access-date=24 December 2016 |via=Korea Forest Service |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525105020/http://www.forest.go.kr/kna/special/download/English_Names_for_Korean_Native_Plants.pdf |archive-date=25 May 2017 }}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== This plant can be found in moist woodland, often at higher altitudes, throughout temperate areas of Europe, Asia, and eastern and western North America. In the UK it is considered suitable for planting in and around water areas,<ref>BS 7370-5 Recommendations for maintenance of water areas</ref> and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Aruncus dioicus''|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/1665/Aruncus-dioicus-(m)/Details | access-date=23 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 8 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date = 6 February 2018}}</ref> Goat's beard prefers humus-rich soil and shade or partial shade. It can be grown in full sun if it has consistent moisture.
==Ecology== ''Aruncus dioicus'' is the host plant for the dusky azure butterfly.<ref>{{cite journal |title=HOSTS - The Hostplants and Caterpillars Database at the Natural History Museum |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/hostplants/search/list.dsml?searchPageURL=index.dsml&Familyqtype=starts+with&Family=&PFamilyqtype=starts+with&PFamily=&Genusqtype=starts+with&Genus=celastrina&PGenusqtype=starts+with&PGenus=&Speciesqtype=starts+with&Species=nigra&PSpeciesqtype=starts+with&PSpecies=&Country=&sort=Family |website=www.nhm.ac.uk| date=2023 | doi=10.5519/havt50xw | last1=Robinson | first1=Gaden S. | last2=Ackery | first2=Phillip R. | last3=Kitching | first3=Ian | last4=Beccaloni | first4=George W. | last5=Hernández | first5=Luis M. }}</ref>
== Uses == In Italy the young shoots are eaten, usually boiled briefly in herb infused water, and then cooked with eggs and cheese. In Friuli it is one of the ingredients in the local home-made soup based on wild greens called 'pistic'.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Ghirardini | first1 = M. | last2 = Carli | first2 = M. | last3 = Del Vecchio | first3 = N. | last4 = Rovati | first4 = A. | last5 = Cova | first5 = O. | last6 = Valigi | first6 = F. | last7 = Agnetti | first7 = G. | last8 = MacConi | first8 = M. | last9 = Adamo | first9 = D. | last10 = Traina | first10 = M. | last11 = Laudini | first11 = F. | last12 = Marcheselli | first12 = I. | last13 = Caruso | first13 = N. | last14 = Gedda | first14 = T. | last15 = Donati | first15 = F. | last16 = Marzadro | first16 = A. | last17 = Russi | first17 = P. | last18 = Spaggiari | first18 = C. | last19 = Bianco | first19 = M. | last20 = Binda | first20 = R. | last21 = Barattieri | first21 = E. | last22 = Tognacci | first22 = A. | last23 = Girardo | first23 = M. | last24 = Vaschetti | first24 = L. | last25 = Caprino | first25 = P. | last26 = Sesti | first26 = E. | last27 = Andreozzi | first27 = G. | last28 = Coletto | first28 = E. | last29 = Belzer | first29 = G. | last30 = Pieroni | first30 = A. | title = The importance of a taste. A comparative study on wild food plant consumption in twenty-one local communities in Italy | doi = 10.1186/1746-4269-3-22 | journal = Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine | volume = 3 | article-number = 22 | year = 2007 | pmid = 17480214| pmc =1877798 | doi-access = free }}</ref>
''Aruncus dioicus'' var. ''kamtschaticus'' has shown potent cytotoxicity against Jurkat T cells.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Jeong | first1 = S. Y. | last2 = Jun | first2 = D. Y. | last3 = Kim | first3 = Y. H. | last4 = Min | first4 = B. S. | last5 = Min | first5 = B. K. | last6 = Woo | first6 = M. H. | doi = 10.1016/j.bmcl.2011.04.043 | title = Monoterpenoids from the aerial parts of Aruncus dioicus var. Kamtschaticus and their antioxidant and cytotoxic activities | journal = Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters | volume = 21 | issue = 11 | pages = 3252–3256 | year = 2011 | pmid = 21546250 | pmc = }}</ref>
Native Americans in the Northwest used the plant medicinally as a diuretic, as a poultice, and to treat blood diseases, smallpox, and sore throats.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fagan|first=Damian|title=Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert|publisher=FalconGuides|year=2019|isbn=978-1-4930-3633-2|location=Guilford, CT|pages=81|oclc=1073035766}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Commons-inline}} * {{PFAF|Aruncus dioicus}}
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dioicus Category:Flora of Europe Category:Flora of temperate Asia Category:Flora of Northern America
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