Actaea pachypoda (White baneberry)

Actaea pachypoda Elliott

Actaea pachypoda Elliot

Actaea alba auct. non (L.) Mill.

White baneberry, doll’s eyes

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Magnoliidae	Includes magnolias, nutmeg, bay laurel, cinnamon, avocado, black pepper, and many others
Order	Ranunculales	Basal (evolved earlier) eudicots, also called “true dicots”
Family	Ranunculaceae	Buttercup family
Genus	Actaea	From ancient Greek, signifying a wet habitat and its leaves’ similarity to Sambucus leaves
Species	pachypoda	“With a thick foot or stalk”

About plant names...

Baneberries are members of the buttercup family. They are natives of eastern North America, and live in wooded areas.

Identification: If it is the time of year for them, baneberries’ most distinguishing feature is, well, the berries. Relatively few plants produce white berries, and the small black or purplish dots at one end of each berry led to the common name “doll’s eyes.” The stalks supporting the berries are conspicuously colored (photo 7). If it isn’t the time of year for the berries, the sharp-toothed leaf clusters are fairly distinctive in shape. In addition to the red berries, red baneberries have rounder flower clusters, vs. the more cone-shaped cluster in white baneberries. On all of the baneberries, leaves often occur in groups of three, on thin stems, and are saw-toothed.

Some variants are compared below:

1 · 11/27/2009 · Maine

2 · 8/18/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 10 × 15" (26 × 39 cm)

	You are here Actaea pachypoda	*Actaea pachypoda f. rubrocarpa*	*Actaea rubra*
Common Name	white baneberry	doll’s-eyes	red baneberry
Plant
Flowers	Flowerheads of small white flowers are roughly oval in shape. Each flower is ¼" (6.3 mm) across.	Flowerheads of small white flowers are roughly oval in shape. Each flower is ¼" (6.3 mm) across.	Feathery flowerheads of small white flowers are roughly oval in shape. Each flower is ¼" (6.3 mm) across. Flowers have a roselike fragrance.
Leaves
Fruit	White berries supported by red pedicels that are ⅛" (3 mm) or more in thickness. Berry tips have black-purple spot.	Red berries supported by pedicels that are ⅛" (3 mm) or more in thickness. Instead of the tomato red of red baneberry, these berries have a more luminous deep magenta color, becoming more purplish with time.	Bright or dark red, oval berries are supported by pedicels that are less than ⅛" (3 mm) thick.
Range/ Zones		USDA Zones: 3-8
Habitats			Actaea racemosa
Type	Wild	Wild	Wild
Occurrence	Common	Rare	Common

	*Actaea rubra f. neglecta*
Common Name	white-fruited red baneberry
Plant	12-36" (30-91 cm) high
Flowers	roughly spherical (racemes) of small white or purple Flowers ¼" (6.3 mm) across, with a roselike odor. Flowerheads appear soft and feathery. Flowers appear in May.
Leaves	In groups of three, on thin stems, and are saw-toothed. Individual leaves are somewhat divided into three sections
Fruit	Oval when green, becoming rounder and white when ripe
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Moist, shaded areas, such as forest floors
Type	Wild

Edibility: Skull & Crossbones All parts of this plant are poisonous. As few as two of these very bitter berries may be fatal to children; a half dozen can cause cardiac arrest and bizarre neurological symptoms in an adult. The roots and leaves also contain several poisons that are dangerous when ingested and can cause skin blisters.

Online References:

Actaea pachypoda on Missouriplants.com

Actaea pachypoda at Illinois Wildflowers

Actaea pachypoda on Wikipedia

Actaea pachypoda at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Actaea pachypoda on the Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

Actaea pachypoda on CalPhotos

Actaea pachypoda on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Actaea pachypoda on the USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

Actaea pachypoda on eFloras

3 · 8/14/2015 · Roost Trail, Grafton Notch State Park, Newry, Maine
≈ 7 × 4½" (16 × 11 cm)

4 · 8/6/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 11 × 7" (28 × 18 cm)

5 · 7/23/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 7 × 6" (18 × 15 cm)

6 · 8/24/2018 · Old Long Loop, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 8 × 12" (20 × 31 cm)

7 · Finding this in the woods—and puzzling over it on and off for the next six months—got me interested in wild plants in the first place. · 9/23/2007 · Near Mike & Ellen’s, Milford, Pennsylvania
≈ 3 × 2" (7.9 × 5.3 cm)

8 · 12/12/2020 · By Kathleen Williamson

9 · 9/5/2020 · Hedgehog Mountain, Freeport, Maine
≈ 4½ × 6" (12 × 14 cm)

10 · 8/18/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 14" (23 × 35 cm)

11 · Immature fruit · 7/3/2005 · Pepperell, Massachusetts

12 · 9/25/2017 · Oak Hill, Littleton, Massachusetts
≈ 3½ × 3½" (8.6 × 9.1 cm)

13 · 5/14/2012 · Acton Arboretum, Acton, Massachusetts
≈ 11 × 7" (27 × 18 cm)

14 · 8/6/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 15 cm)

Actaea pachypoda description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 16 Sep 2020.

15 · 9/25/2017 · Oak Hill, Littleton, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 6" (21 × 15 cm)

16 · 9/6/2010 · Henry E. Cowdrey Nature Center, Townsend, Massachusetts
≈ 8 × 6" (19 × 14 cm)

17 · 9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts
≈ 17 × 12" (44 × 29 cm)

18 · 8/16/2012 · Mt. Tom State Reservation, Beau Bridge Trail, Holyoke, Massachusetts
≈ 3 × 3" (8.3 × 7.7 cm)

19 · 8/18/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 11 × 7" (27 × 18 cm)

20 · 5/14/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 8 × 6" (20 × 14 cm)

21 · 5/14/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 7 × 6" (17 × 14 cm)

22 · 9/29/2016 · Henry E. Cowdrey Nature Center, Lunenberg, Massachusetts

23 · 5/14/2012 · Acton Arboretum, Acton, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 4½" (17 × 11 cm)

24 · 8/22/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 6 × 5" (14 × 12 cm)

25 · Unripe berries. · 7/15/2019 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, New Long Loop, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 6 × 9" (16 × 22 cm)

26 · 7/15/2019 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, New Long Loop, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 6 × 8" (16 × 20 cm)

27 · These berries will ripen to white. · 7/23/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 6 × 6" (14 × 14 cm)

Range:

About this map...