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Actaea pachypoda

Common name:	White Baneberry	Family:	Ranunculaceae
Author:	Elliott.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:	Actaea alba ((L.)Mill.)
Known Hazards:	All parts of the plant are toxic, causing severe gastrointestinal inflammation and skin blisters[222].
Range:	Eastern N. America - S. Canada to Georgia, west to Oklahoma and Minnesota.
Habitat:	Deciduous forests, less often with pines, junipers, or other conifers[270].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	A. alba auct. non[P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Baneberry [E], White Baneberry [H,P,B], White Baneberry, White Cohosh [S], White Cohosh [H],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Ranunculales. Buttercup family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.8m by 0.45m . It is hardy to zone 3. It is in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen in August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antipruritic Antirheumatic Emmenagogue Galactogogue Hypnotic Oxytoxic Stimulant VD.

The whole plant, but especially the root, is anticonvulsive, antirheumatic, emmenagogue, mildly hypnotic, oxytocic and stimulant[207, 257]. Use with caution, see the notes above on toxicity[222]. A decoction of the roots has been used in the treatment of coughs, colds, rheumatism and syphilis[213, 257]. It is also used in small doses to ease the pain of childbirth[222] and is used as a stimulant to revive and rally patients at the point of death[257]. An infusion of the roots has been used externally to treat itchy skin and as a gargle for sore throats[257].
An infusion of leaves was drunk by the women of some Indian tribes in order to stimulate the flow of milk[213].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Tolerates most conditions[233], but prefers a humus-rich moist soil in light shade[200, 233].
Grows best in the wild or woodland garden[200].
This species is closely related to A. rubra[200].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame or in a sheltered outdoor bed[200]. Completely remove the seed pulp since this can inhibit germination. Stored seed does not usually germinate well[200]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer of the following year.
Division in spring.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[W] Photos (common names, range) from the University of Washington Medicinal Herb Garden.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Actaea alba (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for actaea pachypoda (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Ranunculaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

[270] Flora of N. America 0
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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