Georgia Wildlife Federation

Resources < Wildlife Habitats < Guide to Native Plants of Georgia for Wildlife < Aruncus dioicus

Goatsbeard is a tall, leafy perennial perfect for shade gardens or wooded areas. Its feathery flower spikes are teddy-bear huggable and the plant altogether resembles a better-looking leafy version of the non-native fountain grass. A single flower plume has hundreds of tiny flowers and attracts a diversity of small nectariferous insects including moths, bees, and butterflies. It grows so densely that it is capable of holding invasive plants like privet at bay. It makes a superb companion to other native plants and adds a soft, airy, and delicate touch in the landscape.

Goatsbeard was once an important medicinal plant. Native Americans used the ground root as a poultice for bee stings, to reduce bleeding after childbirth, and an infusion of the leaves was used as a soak for tired, swollen feet.

Family: Rosaceae (Rose)

Description: Leaves up to 15” long, alternate, compound, divided 2-3 times into toothed ovate leaflets 2-5” long with prominent alternate venation. Small, whitish-cream flowers cluster on narrow, elongated spikes that form arching plumes with masses of all male or all female flowers and impart a feathery or beardlike appearance. Bloom time is late spring to summer. Seed capsules are small and brown, borne on female plants, with hundreds of tiny seeds.

Size: 3 to 6 feet tall

Habit: Clump-forming shrub-like perennial

Growth Rate: Slow when young and moderate when mature

Light: Prefers partial shade to full shade. Tolerant of full sun if given consistent moisture

Planting and Care: Optimal conditions are rich, moist soil and partial shade. Amend the soil with copious amounts of organic matter before planting, which helps to retain moisture and nutrition. Goatsbeard can tolerate full sun if given consistent moisture. Give the plants plenty (2-4’) of space to grow to a mature size, because transplanting them is difficult when established.

Ornamental Value: The primary asset is the astounding plumes of flowers which are at their peak for about two weeks. Fall color is a beautiful deep gold.

Landscape Use: Goatsbeard looks best as a specimen plant or in patches and makes an excellent companion to other native woodland wildflowers like Dutchman’s Breeches, Bleeding Heart, Black Cohosh, Blue Cohosh, and Columbine. It is a marvelous plant to line a woodland path, or beside a pond or stream.

Wildlife Benefits: Larval host plant for the Dusky Azure Butterfly. Its copious flowers also provide nectar to small and medium-sized flying insects during late spring and early summer.

Native Habitat: Goatsbeard ranges from Pennsylvania south to Georgia, and west to Alabama and Kentucky. It favors rich woods and ravines.