shrub yellowroot

Names and Synonyms

Common Names

• yellowroot
• Shrub Yellowroot
• Shrubby Yellow-root
• brook-feather

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Synonyms

• Zanthorhiza apiifolia
• Xanthorhiza tinctoria
• Zanthorhiza apiifolia var. ternata

Regional and Traditional Names

Sources: Wikidata, Catalogue of Life

Taxonomical Classification

This plant, known as Xanthorhiza simplicissima, belongs to the kingdom Plantae and the phylum Streptophyta. Within the class Equisetopsida and subclass Magnoliidae, it is categorized under the order Ranunculales. Finally, it is classified under the family Ranunculaceae and the genus Xanthorhiza.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Distribution

This plant exhibits a specific geographical distribution that spans across different regions. In North America, it can be found throughout the Northeastern United States, specifically in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York. Interestingly, the species also has a presence in Middle Europe, notably within Germany. This wide range illustrates how the plant adapts to varying environments across two continents. Consequently, its habitat extends from the coastal areas of the Northeast to the landscapes of Central Europe.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Botanical Identification

Life history

The life history of Xanthorhiza simplicissima is characterized by its status as a perennial herb, allowing it to persist in its environment through multiple growing seasons. As a long-lived species, it relies on a robust, thickened rhizomatous root system that serves as a primary storage organ for nutrients, enabling the plant to survive dormant periods and regrow annually. The lifecycle typically involves a period of vegetative growth in the spring, followed by the development of flowering stalks that produce distinctive yellow composite flowers. Following pollination, the plant produces seeds that contribute to the dispersal and establishment of new individuals within its habitat. Because it is a perennial, the plant does not die after a single reproductive event, but instead undergoes seasonal cycles of growth, flowering, and senescence, often becoming more established and vigorous as its underground structures mature over time.

Lifecycle :

perennial

Morphology

The morphology of Xanthorhiza simplicissima is characterized by its growth form as a forb, exhibiting a structure that is fundamentally non-woody in its herbaceous parts, though it possesses woody characteristics in its persistent rhizomes. This plant functions as a self-supporting clamberer, utilizing its structural habit to navigate its environment without the requirement for external support through obligate or facultative climbing mechanisms.

Climber :

self-supporting

Growth form :

forb

Woodiness :

woody

Sources: Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT)

Plant Parts

Xanthorhiza simplicissima has 1 reported plant parts identified across 1 scientific publications and several other databases that are studied for medicinal purposes. The most consistently reported plant part include root.

Root

1. Natural product research

Chemicals

Xanthorhiza simplicissima has 10 reported phytochemicals identified across 1 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported chemicals include berberine, Berberastine, Flavonoids, Jatrorrhizine, Magnoflorine.

berberine

1. Dr. Duke
2. Natural product research
3. Journal of pharmaceutical sciences

Berberastine

1. Dr. Duke

Flavonoids

1. Natural product research

Jatrorrhizine

1. Dr. Duke

Magnoflorine

1. Dr. Duke

Obamegine

1. Dr. Duke

Oxyacanthine

1. Dr. Duke

Puntarenine

1. Journal of pharmaceutical sciences

Sterols

1. Natural product research

Triterpenes

1. Natural product research

Activities

Xanthorhiza simplicissima has 143 reported activities identified across 1 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported activities include (+)-Inotropic, Abortifacient, Adrenolytic, Amebicide, Analgesic.

(+)-Inotropic

1. Dr. Duke

Abortifacient

1. Dr. Duke

Adrenolytic

1. Dr. Duke

Amebicide

1. Dr. Duke

Analgesic

1. Dr. Duke

Anesthetic

1. Dr. Duke

Antiacetylcholinesterase

1. Dr. Duke

Antiacne

1. Dr. Duke

Antiadrenergic

1. Dr. Duke

Antiaggregant

1. Dr. Duke

Conditions

Xanthorhiza simplicissima has 5 reported investigations on conditions identified across 1 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported conditions include Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, cramps, jaundice, ulcers.

Candida albicans

1. Journal of pharmaceutical sciences

Cryptococcus neoformans

1. Journal of pharmaceutical sciences

Cramps

1. Natural product research

Jaundice

1. Natural product research

Ulcers

1. Natural product research

Preparations

Xanthorhiza simplicissima has 3 reported preparations identified across 1 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported preparations include bitter, organic extract of the whole plant, roots.

Bitter

1. Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine

Organic extract of the whole plant

1. Journal of pharmaceutical sciences

Roots

1. Natural product research