Tall bugbane (Cimicifuga elata) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 10

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Evaluation and Proposed Status

Existing Protection or Other Status

International status

Cimicifuga elata has been globally ranked by The Nature Conservancy of the US as "G2," or imperiled because of rarity (typically with 6-20 extant sites) or because of some factor(s) making it vulnerable to extirpation or extinction.

National and provincial status

The British Columbia Conservation Data Centre considers Cimicifuga elata a Ministry of Environment "Red-listed," or a threatened/endangered taxon (Douglas et al., 1998). This taxon is ranked as an "S2," in British Columbia, or imperiled because of rarity, typically 6-20 extant occurrences or few remaining individuals, or because of some factor(s) making it vulnerable to extirpation or extinction.

Assessment of Status and Authors’ Recommendation

Cimicifuga elata has an extremely restricted range in Canada. It is known only from seven extant sites (5 of which are on the same mountain) in the Chilliwack valley in British Columbia where populations are relatively small, consisting of few to 63 plants. In addition, Cimicifuga elata is rare throughout its entire range. Over its range it is under heavy logging pressure and it is not known how vulnerable C. elata is to forest practices over the long term. For these reasons, in an earlier paper (Penny & Douglas, 1999), the authors recommended that C. elata be considered as endangered in Canada. This recommendation remains unchanged for the present status report.