Yearning for Yellowroot

The Ethnobotany & Ecology of Xanthorhiza simplicissima

The emergence of the snowdrops and daffodils suggest rebirth and renewal as we step into the 2023 growing season. Meanwhile, cool-temperature-loving crops are waking from their slumber beneath their protective plastic domes. Of these early risers, Xanthorhiza simplicissima takes the subtle approach, blending into the fallen brown debris of last year’s growth and allowing only the most curious to seek out its hidden secrets. This week, we’re celebrating the ethnobotanical and ecological sides of Xanthorhiza simplicissima, known commonly as yellowroot, a highly underutilized native woodland shrub that has a lengthy and storied past.

It’s a brisk, damp, early spring morning sometime in the early 1700’s. You’re taking your regular morning stroll through the swampy, thick mud along the streambank, listening to the chatter of the birds and keeping your eyes peeled for your favorite swath of yellowroot. They haven’t quite begun to push foliage yet, but instead are covered in airy, drooping panicles of tiny, purplish-brown flowers with yellow centers. Today, your plans are to harvest precious artists’ tools made naturally by this special plant – the stems and roots of Xanthorhiza simplicissima, when crushed, make a brilliant yellow dye, as well as a potent bitter tonic that is sure to cure what ails you. Early spring harvesting is recommended, and you know no other way – this is when the shrubby colony is coming to life, the roots full of stored winter energy ready to unleash a flush of new growth. 

Such were the ways of First Nations people and the early European settlers that wound up in Appalachia. For as long as the United States have been free from the British colonies, Xanthorhiza simplicissima has been adored and cultivated for its medicinal, ornamental, ecological, and colorant properties. John Bartram was first reported to have acquired a sample of Xanthorhiza simplicissima from North Carolina, which he promptly included in his garden collection. It was thought to have been introduced as an ornamental shrub sometime around 1776, making it almost as important to Philadelphian and American history as that one really important document with all of the signatures. However, the indigenous people of the Appalachians had been well aware of yellowroot’s usefulness way prior to Bartram’s interaction with the plant in the late 1700’s. First Nations tribes regarded yellowroot not so much for its ornamental properties, but rather, for its medicinal uses. Known to be a powerful bitter, tonic, astringent and stimulant with anti-inflammatory and anti-biotic constituents, the rhizomes were (and still are) revered for their ability to aid digestive and circulatory issues. The roots, inner bark (cambium), and new shoots emerge a brilliant yellow, giving this colonizing shrub both its common and scientific names: xantho-, meaning “yellow”, and -rhiza, meaning “root”. It’s the alkaloid berberine that enables yellowroot to have its tonic effect on the digestive system: in fact, it’s one of the key alkaloids in turmeric and Oregon grape root as well, both traditional medicinal plants noted for their anti-inflammatory properties. The crushed roots and stems are known to also impart a deep golden hue to fabrics and basket-weaving materials, with a 200-plus-year account of yellowroot dye as holding up better to heat and sunlight than turmeric and saffron. Pigments were also created from yellowroot for paintings, where it could be mixed with Prussian blue pigment to create a deep green. First Nations tribes also revered the native groundcover for its colorant properties, and would utilize the pigment of the bright golden yellow as war paint.

The versatility of yellowroot as a medicinal, artistic, and ornamental plant extends also into its adaptability as a landscape plant with important ecological implications. Being as this shrubby groundcover prefers moist, damp soil with part shade conditions and it colonizes rather easily, it is fantastic for erosion control along slopes near streambanks or other bodies of water that require soil stabilization. However, Xanthorhiza simplicissima is also capable of handling drought once established, and can tolerate full shade conditions. It’s a great option for the naturalized or cottage garden where it’s able to spread and create a self-made composition of multi-seasonal interest. Besides its delicate sprays of drooping brownish-purple flowers in the springtime, this plant achieves beautiful rainbows of maroons, reds, oranges, golds, purples, and greens during the Autumn months, occasionally holding its foliage into early winter (the foliage on our crops here at the Nursery persisted into December!). The low growing, easily suckering habit provides understory habitat for songbirds and small mammals, who will browse the inconspicuous drooping fruits that appear from May to June.

The flowers on our Xanthorhiza simplicissima crop here at the nursery have only just begun to appear along with some new shoots. Now is the time to plan ahead and get yellowroot in the ground so that its able to impress the masses in the fall with its intensely colored foliage. We have substantial numbers of a current crop in #1 containers, and are looking ahead to a large future crop of yellowroot by mid-July. Make sure to add some to your next order, and help to spread the word on this highly undervalued and underutilized shade-loving groundcover!

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Woodhouse, James. "Article XI.: An Account Of A New, Pleasant, And Strong Bitter; And Yellow Dye, Prepared From The Stem And Root Of The Anthorhiza Tinctoria, Or Shrub Yellow Root; With A Chemical Analysis Of This Vegetable: The Characters Of The Fructification According To The Linnaean Arrangement. References To The Plate." The Medical Repository of Original Essays and Intelligence, Relative to Physic, Surgery, Chemistry, and Natural History (1800-1824) 5, no. 2 (Apr 01, 1802): 159. Http://libproxy.temple.edu/login?Url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/article-xi/docview/89456116/se-2.

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