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Rosaceae
Goatsbeard
Aruncus dioicus
Wild dignity, woodland grace, soft strength.
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Genus
- Aruncus
- Native to
- North America, Europe, Asia
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer
- Type
- Perennial
- Height
- 120–180 cm (4–6 ft)
- Sunlight
- Part shade to full shade
- Soil
- Rich, moist
- Water
- Moderate to high
- Hardiness
- 3–7
- Lifespan
- Long-lived perennial
Did you know
- Goatsbeard looks exactly like a giant astilbe—same feathery plumes, similar shade tolerance—but it's actually in the rose family, not the saxifrage family.
- It is dioecious (hence the species name)—male plants have showier, fluffier flowers, while female plants produce smaller plumes that develop into seed clusters.
- A single mature plant can grow into a six-foot fountain of foam-white plumes that look like a small cloud trapped in a clearing.
- It's one of the few native North American perennials that holds its own as a woodland 'specimen plant'—gardeners often grow just one as a focal point.
- The name 'aruncus' comes from the Greek and Latin for 'goat's beard,' referring to the long, hanging beards of pampered male billygoats.
Color meanings
0
wild dignity
1
woodland grace
2
patient strength