Accession Data
Xanthorhiza simplicissima
Common Name: Yellowroot
Family: Ranunculaceae
Country of Origin: southeastern USA
Habitat: Damp woods, thickets and the banks of streams
Description: Named for the color of its inner bark and roots; native to the Appalachians and southeastern Atlantic coast, west to Kentucky and Texas; a tall groundcover (3') good for banks or slopes, it spreads by underground rhizomes; tolerant of dry as well as heavy soils; flowers early before leaves appear, a not particularly showy racemose panicle or drooping cluster of brownish purple flowers; lustrous green foliage turning yellow, bronze or red in fall.
Uses: It contains the alkaloid berberine, which has a number of traditional and contemporary uses for dyeing and medicine.4
Accession Data
USDA Zone: 6A-8B
Accession #: 202600001
Accession Date: 2026-01-01 00:00:00
Confirmed At: 2026-03-10 19:19:28
Bloom Status: 🌸 Flowering
Location: 2110
Quantity: 2
Source: M.Opel
Provenance: MRO 342, Laurel Lake, Columbus, NC. Dwarf shrub of wet, shady sites on the banks of streams, in ravines in oak/pine woods. Cuttings (2) collected May 13, 2025
Classification
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Subclass: eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
SubFamily: Coptidoideae
Tribe: Coptideae
Flowering Data:
This accession has been observed in bloom on:| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
- Plants For A Future Website
- Yellow Trail Tree Walk - University of Vermont
- The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Accessed 26 February 2015.
- Xanthorhiza at Wikipedia. Last accessed Jan 8, 2026.
- Xanthorhiza simplicissima at ARS-GRIN. Last accessed on Saturday, January 28, 2017.
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