Actaea spicata L.

Baneberry, herb christopher (en), Actée en épi (fr), Herbe aux poux (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Ranunculales > Ranunculaceae > Actaea

Characteristics

A perennial hermaphrodite deciduous herb. It grows 0.3-0.5m high.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination entomogamy
Spread endozoochory
Mature width (meter) 0.1 - 0.5
Mature height (meter) 0.3 - 0.5
Root system creeping-root
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

Ash woods on limestone and in damp stony woods to 1,500 metres. Deciduous woodland, or clearings in coniferous woods, at elevations to 500 metres in Asia.
Light 1-6
Soil humidity 5-7
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity 2-7
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 5-7

Usage

Uses dye medicinal poison
Edible -
Therapeutic use Skin diseases (fruit), Antirheumatic agents (root), Appetite stimulants (root), Asthma (root), Cathartics (root), Chorea (root), Emetics (root), Expectorants (root), Goiter (root), Headache (root), Low back pain (root), Nervous system diseases (root), Neuralgia (root), Parasympatholytics (root), Rheumatic diseases (root), Rheumatic fever (root), Skin diseases (root), Snake bites (root), Tuberculosis, lymph node (root), Uterine diseases (root), Angina Pectoris (unspecified), Antidote (unspecified), Asthma (unspecified), Cardiotonic (unspecified), Dropsy (unspecified), Hysteria (unspecified), Nerves (unspecified), Nervine (unspecified), Pertussis (unspecified), Phthisis (unspecified), Poison (unspecified), Preventitive(Death) (unspecified), Preventitive(Malaria) (unspecified), Preventitive(Miasm) (unspecified), Preventitive(Poison) (unspecified), Sedative (unspecified), Senility (unspecified), Spasm (unspecified), Tumor (unspecified), Tumor(Thigh) (unspecified), Rheumatism (unspecified), Vitus (unspecified), Carcinoma, ehrlich tumor (unspecified), Cathartics (unspecified), Emetics (unspecified), Neoplasms (unspecified), Nervous system diseases (unspecified), Snake bites (unspecified)
Human toxicity toxic (whole)
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by divisions or seedlings. Seeds needs stratification.
Mode divisions seedlings
Germination duration (days) 30 - 365
Germination temperacture (C°) 15 - 18
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment stratification
Minimum temperature (C°) -29
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Actaea spicata habit picture by Yoan MARTIN (cc-by-sa)
Actaea spicata habit picture by Bořek Tuček (cc-by-sa)
Actaea spicata habit picture by Uwe Knothe (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Actaea spicata leaf picture by Niko (cc-by-sa)
Actaea spicata leaf picture by Feldner Jürn (cc-by-sa)
Actaea spicata leaf picture by Aurore Garnavault Blanchard (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Actaea spicata flower picture by Aurore Garnavault Blanchard (cc-by-sa)
Actaea spicata flower picture by Douglas Scofield (cc-by-sa)
Actaea spicata flower picture by Douglas Scofield (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Actaea spicata fruit picture by Niko (cc-by-sa)
Actaea spicata fruit picture by HeyZeus (cc-by-sa)
Actaea spicata fruit picture by HeyZeus (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Actaea spicata world distribution map, present in Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Georgia, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Italy, Kazakhstan, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine, United States of America, and South Africa

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:303913-2
WFO ID wfo-0000519125
COL ID 9S5G
BDTFX ID 721
INPN ID 80137
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Actaea corymbosa Actaea densiflora Actaea nigra Christophoriana spicata Christophoriana vulgaris Actaea vulgaris Actaea spicata var. nigra Actaea spicata var. melanocarpa Actaea spicata

Lower taxons

Actaea spicata var. acuminata