Actaea Linnaeus. Subfamily: Ranunculoideae. Tribe: Cimicifugeae. Common name: Baneberry.
A genus of about 28 species, perennial herbs, of temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Compton, Culham, & Jury (1998) support the inclusion of Cimicifuga in Actaea, based on morphologic and molecular analyses.
ID notes: In rich coves and other mesic Appalachian forests, Actaea often grows with a number of other herbs with similarly compound leaves, including Astilbe (Saxifragaceae), Aruncus (Rosaceae), Caulophyllum (Berberidaceae), Angelica, Thaspium, Osmorrhiza, and Ligusticum (Apiaceae), Aralia (Araliaceae), Thalictrum (Ranunculaceae), and others. The curious evolutionary convergence of leaf morphology (to a 2-3-ternately compound form) of a large number of unrelated genera of Appalachian cove forests is interesting.
References: Compton, Culham, & Jury (1998); Ford (1997c) In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (1997); Park & Lee (1996); Ramsey (1987); Ramsey (1988); Ramsey (1997) In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (1997); Tamura (1993) In Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993). Show full citations.
Hover over a shape, letter, icon, or arrow on the map for definition or see the legend. Data for arrows not developed for genera and families which may have species only occurring outside the flora area.
© Will Stuart | Actaea pachypoda | Original Image ⭷
© Joey Shaw | Actaea pachypoda source | Original Image ⭷
© Bruce A. Sorrie | Actaea pachypoda | Original Image ⭷
© Erik Danielson | Actaea rubra source | Original Image ⭷Feedback
See something wrong or missing on about Actaea? Let us know here: (Please include your name and email if at all complicated so we can clarify if needed.) We greatly appreciate feedback, and will include updates from you in our next webapp update, which can take a few months. If a species is not keyed, that's because keying is ongoing. Please don't send us feedback about unkeyed species.