An attractive woodland plant for the shade garden, with three-foot long spikes of white flowers said to be bug repellant - hence the common name Bugbane. The compound toothed leaves are glossy green; black refers to the color of the roots, which have been used as an expectorant, astringent, analgesic and emmenogogue. Native American uses include as a tonic and to treat rheumatism. This has just been renamed Actea racemosa - Carl Linnaeus's original name for it.