BC Conservation Data Centre: Conservation Status Report
Actaea elata var. elata
tall bugbane
| Scientific Name: | Actaea elata var. elata |
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| Scientific Name Synonyms: |
Cimicifuga elata
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| English Name: | tall bugbane |
| Provincial Status Summary | |
| Status: | S1S2 |
| Date Status Assigned: | April 30, 2019 |
| Date Last Reviewed: | April 30, 2019 |
| Reasons: | Populations of Actaea elata var. elata are small, and sporadically distributed on the landscape. Increasingly fragmented landscapes within its range threaten its persistence. All sites of occurrence are on managed lands subject to forest management activities. Fire and pests that play an important role in forest ecology are controlled in the current management regime, and forest dynamics that may have once favoured spread of this species are disturbed. This is a critically imperiled species in British Columbia. |
| Range | |
| Range Extent: | C = 250-1,000 square km |
| Range Extent Comments: | The range extent for Actaea elata var. elata, calculated using a convex hull, is 299 square kilometres; from the US border just east of Arnold, northwest to Sumas Mountain and east to the lower slopes of Cheam Peak. All the currently known populations occur within the western half of the Chilliwack River Valley, the majority from Vedder and Elk Mountains. |
| Area of Occupancy (km2): | D = 6-25 |
| Area of Occupancy Comments: | The area of occupancy, using a 2km x 2km grid cell for extant occurrences, is over 84 square kilometres (COSEWIC 2018i). |
| Occurrences & Population | |
| Number of Occurrences: | B = 6 - 20 |
| Comments: | There are currently 10 extant occurrences (with multiple source features) of Actaea elata var. elata documented in British Columbia. |
| Number of Occurrences with Good Viability / Ecological Integrity: | C = 4 - 12 |
| Number of Occurrences Appropriately Protected & Managed: | B = 1 - 3 |
| Comments: | Two of the Vedder Mountain locations have been designated as Forest Service Protected Areas, one a Wildlife Tree Patch and the other a Visual Landscape Area. |
| Population Size: | BC = 50 - 1,000 individuals |
| Comments: | There are 243-264 mature individuals (COSEWIC 2018i). |
| Threats (to population, occurrences, or area affected) | |
| Degree of Threat: | B = High |
| Comments: | This is a species that is naturally rare in British Columbia, so it is vulnerable to both natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Increasingly fragmented landscapes within its range threaten its persistence. All the known sites are on managed lands. Fire and forest ecology are controlled, which disturb natural successional processes that may favour this species. |
| Trend (in population, range, area occupied, and/or condition of occurrences) | |
| Short-Term Trend: | U = Unknown |
| Comments: | The estimated generation time of tall bugbane is 20-30 years (COSEWIC 2018i) so the timeframe for short term trends is within about 60-90 yrs (3 generations). According to COSEWIC (2018i), five subpopulations have been [potentially] extirpated (Knopp pers. comm. 2015), and the extent of occurrence of the Canadian population has potentially been reduced by 60% to 97 km2. |
| Long-Term Trend: | U = Unknown |
| Other Factors | |
| Intrinsic Vulnerability: | C=Not intrinsically vulnerable |
| Environmental Specificity: | C=Moderate. Generalist or community with some key requirements scarce. |
| Other Rank Considerations: | |
| Information Gaps | |
| Research Needs: | |
| Inventory Needs: | |
| Stewardship | |
| Protection: | |
| Management: | |
| Version | |
| Author: | Penny J., Klinkenberg B., Klinkenberg R., and R. Batten |
| Date: | February 16, 2021 |
| References | |
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COSEWIC. 2018j. COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on Tall Bugbane in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. xi + 37 pp.
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Douglas, G.W., D. Meidinger, and J. Penny. 2002. Rare Native Vascular Plants of British Columbia, 2nd ed. B.C. Conserv. Data Centre, Terrestrial Inf. Branch, Victoria. 358pp.
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Kaye, T. 1995. Cimicifuga elata: some comments on its ecology and distribution. Botanical Electronic News 121. December 9, 1995. Online. Available: http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben121.html (Accessed May 23, 2003).
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Kaye, Thomas N. 2000. Population Dynamics of tall bugbane and effects of forest management. U.S.D.I. Bureau of Land Management, U.S.D.A. Forest Service and Oregon Department of Agriculture, Plant Conservation Biology Program.
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Klinkenberg, B., and R. Klinkenberg. 2003. A Recovery Strategy for Tall Bugbane (Actaea elata(Nutt.) Prantl.) in Canada. B.C. Minist. Water, Land, Air Prot. 46pp.
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Klinkenberg, Brian. 2005. Landscape Modeling in Conservation Biology: Predictive Mapping of Potential Habitat for Tall Bugbane (Actaea elata) in British Columbia. Minist. of Water, Land and Air Prot., Surrey, BC.
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Penny, J.L., and G.W. Douglas. 2000. Status Report on Tall Bugbane, Cimicifuga elata, in Canada. Unpubl. rep. submitted to the Comm. on the Status of Endangered Wildl. in Can. Ottawa. 22pp.
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Tall Bugbane Recovery Team. 2014. Recovery plan for tall bugbane (Actaea elata) in British Columbia. Prepared for the B.C. Ministry of Environment, Victoria, BC. 43 pp.
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for information on how the CDC determines conservation status ranks. For global conservation status reports and ranks, please visit the NatureServe website http://www.natureserve.org/.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2021. Conservation Status Report: Actaea elata var. elata. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 5, 2026).