Actaea pachypoda

Family:

Ranunculaceae

Common Name(s):

White baneberry

Synonyms:

Actaea alba

Flowering Time:

April to May

Fruit/Seed Maturation Sign:

Berries turn white

Seed Cleaning:

Strip pulp from seeds

Storage:

Intolerant of dry storage (Cullina 2000)

Restoration Potential:

High

Notes

Mature transplants added to a woodland degraded by cattle grazing in Wisconin were "well established" but had not reproduced within the eight years that the plants were monitored (Ellarson and Craven (1982).

Seed output moderate, 4-8 per fruit. If sown immediately "good crop" of seedlings will emerge; some seeds may not germinate the first year; if allowed to dry, seeds may take 2-3 years to germinate (Cullina 2000).

Vegetative spread low (Barkely 1986, Gleason and Cronquist 1991); roots course and fibrous (Runkel and Bull 2009).

Fun fact: Fruits highly poisonous (Sperka 1973).

Red Baneberry, Actaea pachypoda very similar features (Sperka 1973).