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"A Valuable ": . ~. . Very ~ Xanthorhiza simplicissima

Till Nooney

Little has been written about it and it does not appear in most nursery catalogs, but yellowroot, as it’s commonly known, possesses a long list of winning attributes.

It was one of the botanizing Bartrams of Xanthorhiza contain the yellow crystalline eighteenth-century Philadelphia, the - alkaloid known as berberine, and for much of explorer William, who first described the nineteenth century the plant was included Xanthorhiza simplicissima. He wrote in in the American Materia Medica as being his journal of late June or early July, 1773, "preferable to all our native bitters."2 Xan- from Buffalo Lick, Georgia, "This evening I thorhiza’s qualities as dyewood and medicine discoverd a very curious Little Shrub, growing have been largely discounted, but as a land- on the bottoms of these Hills & on the steep scape plant it is more valuable than ever. banks of the Creek. The Foliage & form of Xanthorhiza simplicissima (a monotype of groath a little resembled the Aralia, but what the , or buttercup family) is a was the most remarkeble in it, the afford- deciduous shrub that attains from one to three ing strong Yellow Tincture, near as fine as that feet in height. Its yellow (the source of of Gum boge, It has long slender branching the generic as well as the common name) are Roots which run & spread about just under the fibrous and suckering. The stout, yellowish- surface of the earth, filling a large patch of brown, brittle stems do not branch, thus the ground with a numerous offspring[.] The shrub specific name simplicissima. The alternate rises about 2 feet high sending up slender bend- pinnate usually bear five sharply lobed ing knotty stalk covered with a white smoothe and toothed leaflets that sometimes divide bark which on being rubed off discovers a per- again pinnately. The scar is narrow and fectly lucid Yellow wood, which dies as well as nearly encircles the twig, giving it the seg- the Root, it is my Opinion a very valuable mented appearance William Bartram described Shrub, on this account, where a fine Yellow in his diary. The leaves themselves, which I dye is wanted."’ cluster at the shoot tip, emerge as a bronze- It was in fact as a dyewood that the plant purple color, changing to a bright green as they was initially valued, but while it was found to grow. They attain a length of four to ten inches give a handsome yellow to silk, on cotton and at maturity. Autumn color is initially a clear linen that yellow turned to olive when ex- yellow, then changes to red or purple and, as posed to the sun. For a time it was also valued winter approaches, to tan. The foliage holds as for its medicinal qualities. The roots of late as December in the Boston area. 32 .

This planting of Xanthorhiza simplicissima along Meadow Road at the base of the legume collection is more than a century old. Charles S. Sargent, founding dmector of the Arnold Arboretum, used American as borders along many of the roadways (Karen Madsen).

The , which are plum-colored shad- sandy soil, both of which are said to curb its ing into chocolate brown, emerge erect, then vigorousness. Firsthand experience indicates droop in panicles of two to six inches long that that it will thrive even after being submerged crowd together at the ends of the stem. As in water for two to three weeks in spring. Nor individuals they are interesting rather than did it show signs of distress in full sun with no showy; in mass, they create a purplish haze in irrigation during a droughty summer. A soil March and April, before and just after the with high pH has been reported to cause some leaves emerge. chlorosis.3 A native of damp woodlands from New Xanthorhiza has no serious insect or fungal York to and as far west as , problems. Its suckering roots choke out most Xanthorhiza is extremely adaptable in cultiva- weeds. Indeed, the plant can become a weed tion. It tolerates climates from Zone 3 to 9 and itself if it is not carefully sited. Despite reports has survived laboratory tests to minus 55 de- that its suckering is limited to three to six feet, grees Fahrenheit. As might be expected given experience in New England indicates that the its natural habitat, it prefers shaded moist roots will slowly spread until they are held by areas but will grow in full sun and in loose concrete, steel edging, or other impenetrable 33

barrier. Typical of its adaptability, Xantho- teen to twenty-four inches apart and mulch rhiza tolerates soil compaction as well as well to keep weeds down. Once established, drought. the need little care. A relatively minor Spring or fall is the best time to plant hazard occurs with ice and piled-up snow, Xanthorhiza. Stagger the roots in rows eigh- which can break the brittle stems. If the plants

The flowers of Xanthorhiza simplicissima emerge erect at the end of the shoot and open before or mth the unfoldmg of the leaves (Racz ~ Debreczy). 34

Year-old plantings of Xanthorhiza simplicissima form part of the new landscape m front of the Arboretum’s’s renovated Hunnewell Building (Karen Madsen). become raggedy or overgrown, cut them down Once established Xanthorhiza lives a long in spring and they will quickly renew them- life. Plantings at the Arnold Arboretum have selves with fresh growth. The plant is easily maintained their clean, neat foliage and propagated by division and from fresh seed remarkably uniform height for more than a sown in autumn. century. E. H. Wilson considered it the finest With its fibrous, suckering roots and toler- deciduous-leaved groundcover at the Arbore- ance of flooding, Xanthorhiza is a good water- tum, where it was "very freely employed in side plant to hold banks in place and prevent border planting. "’ As a tall, large-scale ground- erosion. The root structure as well as the cover it possesses enough character to be fea- plant’s fairly fast growth rate also qualify it for tured alone whether in full sun or partial shade wetland reclamation. The plant is attractive to and, in fact, it makes an excellent transition wildlife as well as humans; upland game birds, from sun to shade as well as from dry to wet songbirds, and small animals feed on the fruit. soils. In full sun, its habit is regular and very Because it grows in fairly deep shade, the plant dense, whereas in shade it is more open can provide understory habitat and food where and loose. It forms an excellent base for few other plants can survive. interplantings of taller trees and shrubs and 35

can be especially effective under older Annotated by Francis Harper. Tiansactions of the Amencan 30 Pt plantings that have grown leggy. Its woodland Philosophical Society (New Semes, II~: 140. look suits it to naturalistic plantings, but it is in more also attractive highly cultivated set- 2 James Woodhouse. 1808. Account of a New, tings, where it is wise to contain its vigor Pleasant, and Strong Bitter, and Yellow Dye, within restricted areas. Its shallow, fibrous prepared from the Stem and Root of the Xantho- rhiza or Shrub Yellow with a root and extreme cold hardiness also tinctoria, Root; system chemical of this Amencan it for roof analysis Vegetable. qualify gardens. journal of Pharmacy 58. 161-162. In 1929 Nathaniel Lord Britton, former director of the New York Botanical Garden, 3 Michael Dirr. 1990. A Manual of Woody Landscape wrote, "This low shrub has long been of great Plants, 4th ed. Champaign, IL: Stipes Pubhshmg 930. interest to botanists, pharmacists, and horti- Company, in culturists."5 If so, recent years the interest ’ E. H. Wilson. 1925. America’s Greatest Garden, has been invisible and inaudible. Handsome, The Arnold Arboretum Boston: The Stratford tough, infinitely adaptable, it’s surprising that Company, 95. Xanthorhiza simplicissima has not captured 5 N. L. Britton. 1929. The Shrub Yellow-Root. journal the of a horticultur- imagination great many of The New York Botamcal Garden 30 /359): 265. ists. As a landscape plant, its combination of virtues is hard to match.

is a in New Endnotes Jill Nooney landscape designer Lee, Hampshire. She is near completion of a certificate ’ Wilham Bartram. 1943. Travels in Georgia and at the Radcliffe Seminars Graduate Program in Florida, 1773-1774. A Report to Dr. John Fothergill. Landscape Design.