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''Actaea'', commonly called baneberry, bugbane and cohosh, is a
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s of the family
Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 species), ''Delphinium' ...
, native to subtropical, temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America.


Taxonomy

The genus was redefined to include ''
Cimicifuga ''Cimicifuga'' (bugbane or cohosh) was a genus of between 12 and 18 species of flowering plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The genus is now generally included in '' Actaea''. T ...
'' and '' Souliea'' in the 1990s (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 returning it to the original Linnean concept of the genus. The number of species in ''Actaea'' is to 25–30 using this concept. Other botanists (e.g., Hoffman 1999, Wang et al. 1999, Lee & Park 2004, Wang et al. 2009) reject this merger because only one group (''Actaea'') have fleshy fruit while the remainder have dry fruit. However, this narrower generic concept works for only a single morphological character and other characters such as number of carpels moves the generic boundary. The genus is treated here in its broader sense.
The Plant List The Plant List was a list of botanical names of species of plants created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden and launched in 2010. It was intended to be a comprehensive record of all known names of plant species ...
lists 30 species, and does not list ''Cimicifuga'' separately but treats it as a synonym. ; Selected species * '' Actaea arizonica'' – Arizona bugbane * ''
Actaea asiatica ''Actaea asiatica'', commonly known as Asian baneberry, is a species of baneberry that ranges throughout Asia. The flowers are ranges from gray to white. The berries are black-purple. The plant is extremely poisonous to humans. The fruits are eat ...
'' * '' Actaea elata'' * ''
Actaea matsumurae ''Actaea matsumurae'', the Kamchatka bugbane or Japanese bugbane, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, that is native to Japan, Mongolia and Eastern Russia. Other common names include baneberry, which is also app ...
'' – Kamchatka bugbane, Japanese bugbane * '' Actaea pachypoda'' – white baneberry, white cohosh, doll's eyes * ''
Actaea podocarpa ''Actaea podocarpa'', the mountain bugbane or mountain black-cohosh, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family. It is native to the eastern United States, where it is found in the Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains ...
'' * ''
Actaea racemosa ''Actaea racemosa'', the black cohosh, black bugbane, black snakeroot, rattle-top, or fairy candle ( syn. ''Cimicifuga racemosa''), is a species of flowering plant of the family Ranunculaceae. It is native to eastern North America from the extrem ...
'' – black cohosh, black bugbane * ''
Actaea rubra ''Actaea rubra'', the red baneberry or chinaberry, is a poisonous herbaceous flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native plant, native to North America. Description It is a perennial herb that grows tall. The leaves are coarsely toothe ...
'' (syn. ''Actaea erythrocarpa'') – red baneberry * ''
Actaea simplex ''Actaea simplex'', the baneberry or bugbane, is a flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. A clump-forming rhizomatous herbaceous perennial, its native range includes the Kamchatka, Sakhalin and Siberian regions of Russia, western ...
'' * ''
Actaea spicata ''Actaea spicata'', the baneberry or herb Christopher, is a species of flowering plant in the genus '' Actaea'', native from Europe to western Siberia and northern Iran. It is often found on limestone edges and in deciduous woodland; key factors ...
'' (syn. ''Actaea alba'') – baneberry, herb christopher


Etymology

''Actaea'' is derived from the Greek name for elder ('' Sambucus''); it was named by Pliny because the leaves of ''Actaea'' and ''Sambucus'' are similar in appearance.Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. (hardback), (paperback). p 35 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 A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
of the European species. Some texts, however, still treat ''A. pachypoda'' under this name.


Use and toxicity

Baneberry contains cardiac toxins that 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. The berries are harmless to birds, the plant's primary seed disperser. ''Actaea'' species are closely related to plants in the genus ''
Aconitum ''Aconitum'' (), also known as aconite, monkshood, wolf's-bane, leopard's bane, mousebane, women's bane, devil's helmet, queen of poisons, or blue rocket, is a genus of over 250 species of flowering plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae. ...
'', a highly toxic plant genus which contains ''wolfbane'' and several varieties of ''monkshood''. The roots of ''A. rubra'' contain
β-sitosterol β-sitosterol (beta-sitosterol) is one of several phytosterols (plant sterols) with chemical structures similar to that of cholesterol. It is a white, waxy powder with a characteristic odor, and is one of the components of the food additive E499. ...
glucoside A glucoside is a glycoside that is derived from glucose. Glucosides are common in plants, but rare in animals. Glucose is produced when a glucoside is hydrolysed by purely chemical means, or decomposed by fermentation or enzymes. The name was o ...
.


References


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * RHS Plant Finder https://web.archive.org/web/20070711161100/http://www.rhs.org.uk/RHSPlantFinder/plantfinder.asp * *
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, *


Wikimedia

{{Authority control Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae genera