Aruncus dioicus (Walter) Fernald
Goat’s beard, bride’s feathers
These native plants are North American natives, widespread across the upper half of North America.
Plants: Bushy, 4–6′ (1.2–1.8 m) tall herbaceous plants.
Leaves: 8–20″ (20–50 cm) long, compound, and doubly or triply divided into serrated 2–4″ (5–10 cm) leaflets that are oval or lanceolate.
Flowers: Plants are dioecious. Male plants have showier flowers with numerous stamens. Female plant flowers have three stamens. Flowerheads are large panicles, white or cream-colored, with multiple feathery, fingerlike blooms. Individual, tiny flowers have five petals. They appear from April to June.
Fruits: Small, dry seed capsules.
Habitats: Moist, fertile, organically rich soil, in temperate North America and higher elevations of drier regions.
Edibility: Young shoots, boiled briefly, are sometimes added to egg and cheese omelettes.
Online References:
7/6/2013 · Mike and Ellen’s, Shohola, Pennsylvania · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (47 × 31 cm) 
6/11/2025 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm) 
6/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 1 × 1′ (34 × 38 cm) 
5/22/2026 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia · ≈ 8 × 11″ (19 × 28 cm) 
6/27/2026 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine · ≈ 13 × 9″ (34 × 22 cm) 
6/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 14 × 9″ (35 × 23 cm) 
6/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 17 × 12″ (44 × 29 cm) 
6/11/2025 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine · ≈ 10 × 15″ (26 × 39 cm) 
7/6/2013 · Mike and Ellen’s, Shohola, Pennsylvania · ≈ 2 × 1′ (59 × 39 cm) 
7/6/2013 · Mike and Ellen’s, Shohola, Pennsylvania · ≈ 2 × 1′ (59 × 39 cm) 
6/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 14 × 10″ (35 × 26 cm) 
6/11/2025 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine · ≈ 8 × 11″ (20 × 28 cm) 
6/27/2026 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine · ≈ 9 × 8″ (24 × 19 cm) 
5/22/2026 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia · ≈ 7 × 6″ (18 × 15 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Rosidae | Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more |
| Order | Rosales | Rose family and eight others |
| Family | Rosaceae | Includes apples, apricots, plums, cherries, peaches, pears, raspberries, strawberries, almonds, roses, meadowsweets, photinias, firethorns, rowans, and hawthorns; many others |
| Genus | Aruncus | According to Umberto Quattrocchi, “from Latin aruncus, ‘the beard of the goat,’ a classical name used by Pliny for herbs commonly known as ‘goat’s beard’” |
| Species | dioicus | Dioecious, having male and female flowers on separate plants |
Aruncus dioicus description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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