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Actaea rubra

Common name:	Red Baneberry	Family:	Ranunculaceae
Author:	(Aiton.)Willd.	Botanical references:	200, 270
Synonyms:	Actaea arguta (Nutt.)
Known Hazards:	All parts of the plant are toxic[172], apparently acting upon the heart[212].
Range:	N. America - Alaska to California and eastwards to Newfoundland and Philadelphia.
Habitat:	Moist shady areas, mostly in deciduous forests but also in mixed coniferous forests, open pine or spruce woodlands, swales, stream banks and swamps from sea level to 3500 metres[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. arguta var. viridiflora[B,P] A. rubra ssp. arguta[B,,P] A. rubra var. arguta[B,P] A. spicata var. arguta[B,P] A. spicata var. erythrocarpa[G] A. spicata var. rubra[G] Actea rubra[Sa]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Banana Yucca [S], Baneberry [S,H,E], Red Baneberry [P,B,FEIS,L], Yerba Del Peco [S],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	rubra = red
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Ranunculales. Buttercup family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us Us(Blackfoot)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.5m by 0.3m . It is hardy to zone 3. It is in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen from July to 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 full shade (deep woodland) or semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Deep Shade.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Analgesic Antirheumatic Appetizer Emetic Galactogogue Purgative Rubefacient.

The whole plant, but especially the root, is analgesic, antirheumatic, galactogogue and rubefacient[172, 257]. The plant was often used medicinally by North American Indian tribes, though modern users should be aware of the plants potential toxicity. A tea made from the root is used as an appetizer, in the treatment of stomach pains, coughs, colds, menstrual irregularities, post partum pains, to increase milk flow and as a purgative after childbirth[222, 257].
Great caution should be employed if using this plant internally, the rootstock is a violent purgative, irritant and emetic[212].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Tolerates most conditions[233], but prefers a humus-rich moist soil in light shade[200, 233] doing well amongst shrubs and in light woods[1]. Also succeeds in denser shade[187].
Plants are hardy to at least -20° c[187].
A very ornamental plant[1].
Actaea rubra is part of a circumboreal complex and is very similar to the black-fruited European species A . spicata (L.) with which it is sometimes considered conspecific[270]. The western North American plants of A . rubra have been called A . arguta and were distinguished on the basis of their smaller berries, more pubescent leaves, and narrow, more dissected leaflets. Those distinctions, however, are weak specimens from the West often have fruits and leaves similar to those of plants from the East[270].
A greedy plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants, especially legumes[54].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame or outdoors in a moist shaded seedbed[200]. The seed has a limited viability[200], it can also be sown in spring in a cold frame but germination rates may be poor. 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 March or October.

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
[L] Scientific and Common Names (some photos) from Lepidoptera and some other life forms
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[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.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Actaea arguta (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine

References for Actaea rubra ssp. arguta (a possible synonym).

[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.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Actea rubra (a possible synonym).

[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine

References for actaea rubra (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[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

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[54] Hatfield. A. W. How to Enjoy your Weeds. Frederick Muller Ltd 1977 ISBN 0-584-10141-4
Interesting reading.

[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[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.

[212] Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers The Riverside Press 1963 ISBN 63-7093
Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their uses.

[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

Actaea rubra

Alan Bennett (godwit@mindspring.com) Tue Nov 27 18:53:19 2001

The range for Actaea rubra is not only Western North America as your site describes, but also circumboreal from Alaska to Labrador, ranging South, from New Jersey to Illinois and Nebraska.

See -

http://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/plant_profile.cgi?symbol=ACRU2

It may be that the range described on your site is that for the Western variant, ssp. arguta, and excludes the Eastern variant, ssp. rubra.

See -

http://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/plant_profile.cgi?symbol=ACRUA8

http://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/plant_profile.cgi?symbol=ACRUR2

Although these two variants have previously been split, they are now widely (if not universally) lumped as one species. For my purposes, however, the distinctness of the genetic lineages of these subspecies is sufficient that I grow & use only the Eastern variety to preserve the genetic integrity of this area's natural heritage.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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