Plantsnap – Identify Plants, Trees, Mushrooms With An App

Actaea nanchuanensis (Actaea nanchuanensis)

Description

“Pet poisonous” – Toxic parts: berries, roots Baneberry contains cardiogenic 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, a highly toxic plant genus which contains wolfbane and several varieties of monkshood. The roots of A. rubra contain β-sitosterol glucoside, and they were used medicinally by Native Americans as an alternative to Black Cohosh, (A. racemosa), for menstrual cramping and menopausal discomfort.[citation needed] Actaea is recorded as a food plant for the larva of the Dot Moth.

Taxonomic tree

  • Domain: Eukarya

    • Kingdom: Plantae

      • Phylum:

        • Class: Magnoliopsida

          • Order: Ranunculales

            • Family: Ranunculaceae

              • Genus: Actaea