Actaea pachypoda (White Baneberry)

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Actaea, commonly called baneberry or bugbane, is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

The genus is closely related to Cimicifuga and Souliea, and many botanists include those genera within Actaea (e.g. Compton et al. 1998, Compton & Culham 2002, Gao et al. 2006, RHS Plant Finder, 2007) based on combined evidence from DNA sequence data, similarity in biochemical constituents and on morphology; if included, the number of species in Actaea rises to 25-30. Other botanists (e.g. Hoffman 1999, Wang et al. 1999, Lee & Park 2004) reject this merger because only one group (Actaea) have fleshy fruit while the remainder have dry fruit. The genus is treated here in its broader sense.

Selected species

• Actaea arizonica - Arizona bugbane
• Actaea asiatica
• Actaea pachypoda – White Baneberry, White Cohosh, Doll's Eyes
• Actaea racemosa – Black Cohosh, Black Bugbane
• Actaea rubra (syn. Actaea erythrocarpa) – Red Baneberry
• Actaea spicata (syn. Actaea alba) – Baneberry, Herb Christopher

The name Actaea alba (L.) Mill. is a confused one (Fernald 1940); although described as an American species (now named A. pachypoda), the illustration on which the description was based was actually a picture of the European A. spicata, and strictly, the name is therefore a synonym of the European species. Some texts however still treat A. pachypoda under this name.

Actaea is recorded as a food plant for the larva of the Dot Moth.

Use and toxicity

Baneberry contains cardiogenic toxins than can have an immediate sedative effect on human cardiac muscle. The berries are the most poisonous part of the plant (hence the name baneberry). Children have been poisoned by eating the waxy, shiny red or white berries. Ingestion of the berries can lead to cardiac arrest and death. It is toxic to rabbits.^[1] The berries are harmless to birds, the plant's primary seed disperser. Actaea species are closely related to plants in the genus Aconitum, a highly toxic plant genus which contains wolfbane and several varieties of monkshood.^[2]

The roots of A. rubra contain β-sitosterol glucoside,^[3] and they were used medicinally by Native Americans as an alternative to Black Cohosh, (A. racemosa), for menstrual cramping and menopausal discomfort.

References

Notes

Sources

• Compton, J. A.; Culham, A.; Jury, S. L. (1998). "Reclassification of Actaea to Include Cimicifuga and Souliea (Ranunculaceae): Phylogeny Inferred from Morphology, nrDNA ITS, and cpDNA trnL-F Sequence Variation". Taxon 47 (3): 593–634. doi:10.2307/1223580. JSTOR 1223580. 
• Compton, James A.; Culham, Alastair (2002). "Phylogeny and Circumscription of Tribe Actaeeae (Ranunculaceae)". Systematic Botany 27 (3): 502–11. doi:10.1043/0363-6445-27.3.502. JSTOR 3093958. 
• Fernald, M. L. (1940). "What is Actaea alba?". Rhodora 42: 260–5. 
• Gao, Jing-Chun; Zhang, Jin-Chao; Lu, Zhi-Jian; Zhu, Guo-Yuan; Yang, Meng-Su; Xiao, Pei-Gen (2006). "Chemical constituents of Actaea asiatica Hara and their anti-osteoporosis activities". Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 34 (9): 710–13. doi:10.1016/j.bse.2006.02.004. 
• Hoffmann, Matthias H. (1999). "The phylogeny of Actaea (Ranunculaceae): A biogeographical approach". Plant Systematics and Evolution 216 (3–4): 251–63. doi:10.1007/BF01084402. 
• Lee, Hyun-Woo; Park, Chong-Wook (2004). "New Taxa of Cimicifuga (Ranunculaceae) from Korea and the United States". Novon 14 (2): 180–184. JSTOR 3393313. http://www.fna.org/china/novon/novo-14-02-180.pdf. 
• RHS Plant Finder http://www.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantfinder/plantfinder.asp
• Wang, Wen-Tsai; Li, Liang-Qian; Wang, Zheng (1999). "Notulae de Ranunculaceis sinensibus (XXIII)". Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica 37 (3): 209–19. http://www.plantsystematics.com/qikan/Epaper/zhaiyao.asp?bsid=10256. 
• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Actaea (treats genus in broad sense)
• Flora of China: Actaea (treats genus in narrow sense)
• Flora of North America: Actaea (treats genus in narrow sense)
• Edible and Medicinal plants of the West, Gregory L. Tilford, ISBN 0-87842-359-1

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Actaea is a genus of crabs in the family Xanthidae, containing the following species:^[1]

References

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