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Coptis trifolia

Common name:	Goldthread	Family:	Ranunculaceae
Author:	(L.)Salisb.	Botanical references:	58, 200
Synonyms:	Coptis groenlandica ((Oeder.)Fernald.)
Known Hazards:	Although no specific mention of toxicity has been found for this species, it belongs to a family that contains many species that are mildly toxic and so it is wise to treat this plant with some caution.
Range:	N. America, E. Asia - Japan.
Habitat:	Coniferous woods and sphagnum moors[58]. Dark swamps and dense forests in N. America[213].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Anemone groenlandica[G,H] C. trifolia ssp. groenlandica[B,P] C. trifolia subsp. groenlandica[G] C. trifolia var. groenlandica[B,G,P] Chrusa borealis[H] Helleborus pumilus[H] Helleborus trifolius[H] Helleborus trilobus[H]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Canker-root [H], Coptide [H], Coptis [H], Gold Thread [H,S], Goldthread [H,FEIS], Mouthroot [H], Three-leaf Goldthread [B], Threeleaf Goldthread [P], Vegetable Gold [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	trifolia = 3 leaves
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Ranunculales. Buttercup family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us Us(Amerindian)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen perennial growing to 0.15m by 0.5m . It is hardy to zone 2. It is in leaf all year, in flower in May. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

Condiment Leaves.

The whole plant is said to be eaten[105, 177], or it can be mixed with sassafras-root bark and Irish moss and brewed into a kind of herbal root beer[183]. This plant contributes a bitter flavour and a yellow colour to the beverage[183]. Some caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antibacterial Antiinflammatory Antiphlogistic Astringent Sedative Skin Stomachic Tonic.

Goldenthread is a very bitter tasting herb that was formerly highly valued and widely used in North America by the native Indians and white settlers alike, though it is little used in modern herbalism[254]. It was employed mainly to treat any soreness in the mouth[254].
The dried roots, stems and leaves are antiphlogistic, highly astringent, sedative, stomachic, tonic[4, 21, 46, 61, 207, 222]. The plant is valued as a local application in the treatment of thrush in children[4]. It is also used in the treatment of ulcerated mouths and as a gargle for sore throats or mouths[21, 46, 61, 207, 213]. It is said to be useful in the treatment of dyspepsia and helpful in combating the drink habit[4].
The plant contains the alkaloid 'berberine', which is a mild sedative[213], anti-inflammatory and antibacterial[222]. The root is collected in the autumn and dried for later use[213].

Other Uses

Dye Ground cover.

A yellow dye is obtained from the leaves and stems[207].
Can be grown as a ground cover plant in the peat garden[200].

Cultivation details

Requires a light moist humus-rich slightly acidic soil with a northerly aspect or light shade[1, 200].
A very ornamental plant[1].
The sub-species C. trifolia groenlandica (Syn C. groenlandica) is the form used medicinally in N. America[222].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in an ericaceous compost[164]. Seal the pot in a polythene bag until germination takes place, which is usually within 1 - 6 months at 10° c[164]. Stored seed should be sown as early in the year as possible. Four weeks cold stratification may be beneficial[164]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow on in a shady part of the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out in mid-autumn or in spring.
Division in spring[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Coptis groenlandica (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for Coptis trifolia ssp. groenlandica (a possible synonym).

[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for the family Ranunculaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[58] Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965
The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

Readers Comments

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