わが国の各地をはじめ、中国東北部や千島列島、サハリン、カムチャッカ半島に分布しています。丘陵や山地に生え、高さは60〜120センチになります。葉は2〜3回3出羽状複葉で、卵形の小葉には不揃いな鋸歯があります。8月から9月ごろ、茎頂に穂状花序をだし、白色の花を咲かせます。つぼみが開くと花弁は落ちてしまいます。「おおばしょうま」との違いは、花柄があることです。漢名では升麻(しょうま)といいますが、和名は若菜を茹で、水で晒して食用にするところから。中国語では「単穂升麻(dan sui sheng ma)」と呼ばれます。
The "Sarasina-shoma" (Cimicifuga simplex) belongs to Ranunculaceae (the Buttercup family). It is a perennial herb that is distributed not only in various parts of Japan, but also in northeastern China, the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin, and the Kamchatka Peninsula. This herb grows in foothills and mountains and can reach 60-120 cm in height. The leaves are biternate to triternate compound with ovate leaflets. The leaflets have irregular toothed edges. The spikes are borne on the stem apices and bloom white flowers. The petals shed early thought the sepals remain for a long time. The Chinese name is "升麻", but the Japanese name "晒菜升麻" comes from the fact that the young greens are boiled, bleached in water, and used for food. In Chinese, it is called "単穂升麻" (dan sui sheng ma).