Goldenseal: conservation through propagation

Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L – Ranunculaceae) is a woodland species growing only in Southeastern Canada and Eastern US.            

It is known under many other common names: yellow puccoon, eyebalm, eyeroot, Indian paint, wild turmeric, ground raspberry, which can often be traced back to the Native American uses as a medicinal plant. The Cherokee and other Indigenous tribes used the roots of this plant as an antiseptic for inflammations, general tonic, to treat skin problems, and as an eyewash.
Also a golden-yellow dye was produced from the roots (yellow rhizomes), hence the common name ‘Indian dye’.

It was just a matter of time for the European settlers to start using it in a similar fashion. Somehow the popularity of the species grew exponential during early 1990s, and the demand for goldenseal increased tremendously, which of course, lead to the over-harvesting of plants in the wild.

Considered rare and/or endangered, with protection legislation in place forbidding harvesting from the wild, the loss of natural habitat is nowadays adding to the conservation challenges of this species.

Personally I wanted to cultivate it not for medicinal purposes, but as part of the woodland plant community, together with Trilliums, Uvularia, Jeffersonia… and so on.
Goldenseal is presumed to be growing in the some locations in Southern Ontario, but it is elusive and I have never encountered it in the wild.

I am happy to be able to share a few seeds from my garden grown plants (raised from seeds) hoping that more people will offer it a refuge in their woodland gardens. With large maple-like leaves, white flowers and ‘strawberry’ looking fruits, it is a beautiful plant!

Propagation from seeds:

The seeds are hydrophilic and have to be sown right away after being removed from the fruits or moist packed for sowing at a later date.

For best results they have to undergo the natural variation in temperature from our temperate climate: warm (late summer) – slightly warm/cold (fall) – cold (winter). The seedlings will appear somewhere in May, almost at the same time with the adult plants emerging from the ground.
One option is to sow the seeds asap and keep the pots outdoors (cold frame or snow covered in the winter).

For those interested in a more ‘controlled’ germination, I will outline how I grew my plants. For a small lot of seeds maybe it is better to keep a close eye on the process because Hydrastis seeds present a peculiar phenomenon: the embryos start growing in late fall up to the point that the seed coats split to reveal the endosperm. This is due to the embryo growth and can be already noticed in December; they gradually continue to enlarge toward the spring, as seen in the pictures.

I mixed the seeds with slightly moist vermiculite and kept them at room temperature until late fall, then somewhat cooler for a couple of weeks, and then placed them in the fridge to simulate the winter (+/-4C).  The moisture must be checked regularly.

The seeds were sowed in pots after I noticed the first roots starting to emerge (see picture above – late March/April) and the pots placed outdoors in a shaded cold frame (beware the critters, late freeze, heavy rains; a garage is also a good option too since light is not necessary for a while); keep moist, but do not over water (the seeds will rot easily at this stage). The seedlings will appear sometime in May. In the first two years the growth is slow like in all other rhizomatous species and best to grow them in the sowing pot; the first flowers are to be expected in the third year.

Head to the Seeds List, or click here for the direct link to Hydrastis seeds. Only propagation, especially from seeds, truly leads to plant species conservation.                                                                    

*Botanically speaking, Hydrastis is a bit of a controversial genus within the family Ranunculaceae. It was moved to Berberidaceae due to its similarities with Podophyllum and Diphylleia; returned to Ranunculaceae due to its strong resemblance to Glaucidium; placed in its own family – Hydrastaceae, and then finally, returned back to Ranunculaceae.

Its most closely related species is Glaucidium! (which has been awarded its own family in the end). For now Flora of North America places Hydrastis canadensis in the Ranunculaceae.