| a tall bugbane, Cimicifuga racemosa, of the buttercup family, of eastern North America, having thin, tapering, toothed or deeply cut leaflets and branched clusters of small, white flowers. |
[koh-hosh, koh-hosh] 
| either of two unrelated plants of the eastern U.S., Cimicifuga racemosa (black cohosh), of the buttercup family, or Caulophyllum thalictroides (blue cohosh), of the barberry family, both used medicinally. |
| black cohosh n. An eastern North American perennial herb (Cimicifuga racemosa) having large, pinnately compound leaves and racemes of small white flowers. Also called black snakeroot. |