Actaea

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Ordo: Ranunculales

Familia: Ranunculaceae
Subfamilia: Ranunculoideae
Tribus: Cimicifugeae
Genus: Actaea
Sectiones: A. sect. Actaea – A. sect. Cimicifuga – A. sect. Dichanthera – A. sect. Oligocarpae – A. sect. Pityrosperma – A. sect. Podocarpae – A. sect. Souliea
Overview of species

A. acuminata – A. arizonica – A. asiatica – A. asplenifolia – A. bifida – A. brachycarpa – A. caudata – A. cordifolia – A. densiflora – A. elata – A. europaea – A. gyrostachya – A. heracleifolia – A. japonica – A. kashmiriana – A. laciniata – A. ×ludovicii – A. mairei – A. matsumurae – A. nutans – A. orthostachya – A. pachypoda – A. podocarpa – A. purpurea – A. racemosa – A. rubifolia – A. rubra – A. simplex – A. spicata – A. tracyi – A. vaginata – A. xanthorrhiza – A. yesoensis – A. yunnanensis

Name

Actaea L., Sp. Pl. 1: 504 (1753).

Type species: Actaea spicata L.

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Actinospora Turcz., Index Sem. Hortus Bot. Petrop. (Fischer & C.A.Meyer) 1: 21 (1835).
Christophoriana Mill., Gard. Dict. Abr. ed. 4 (1754).
Cimicifuga Wernisch., Gen. Pl. 298, 321 (1763).
Pityrosperma Siebold & Zucc., Abh. Math.-Phys. Cl. Königl. Bayer. Akad. Wiss. 3: 734 (1843).
Souliea Franch., J. Bot. (Morot) 12: 69. 1 (1898).
Thalictrodes Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 4. 5 (1891).

References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus I: 504. Reference page.

Additional references

Compton, J.A. & Culham, A. 2002. Phylogeny and circumscription of tribe Actaeeae (Ranunculaceae). Systematic Botany 27(3): 502–511. DOI: 10.1043/0363-6445-27.3.502 JSTOR ResearchGate Reference page.
Compton, J.A., Culham, A. & Jury, S.L. 1998. Reclassification of Actaea to include Cimicifuga and Souliea (Ranunculaceae): phylogeny inferred from morphology, nrDNA ITS, and cpDNA trnL-F sequence variation. Taxon 47(3): 593–634. DOI: 10.2307/1223580 JSTOR ResearchGate Reference page.
Compton, J.A., Culham, A., Gibbings, G.J. & Jury, S.L. 1998. Phylogeny of Actaea including Cimicifuga (Ranunculaceae) inferred from nrDNA ITS sequence variation. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 26(2): 185–197. DOI: 10.1016/S0305-1978(97)00102-6 Academia Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Actaea (Ranunculaceae) in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Oct. 13. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Actaea (Ranunculaceae). Published online. Accessed: Oct. 13 2021.
Farr, E.R. & Zijlstra, G. (eds.) 1996 onwards. Actaea (Ranunculaceae) in Index Nominum Genericorum (Plantarum). Accessed: 2009 Oct 01.

Vernacular names
azərbaycanca: Qarğaotu
башҡортса: Бәғәнәш
беларуская: Варанец
čeština: samorostlík
dansk: Druemunke
Deutsch: Christophskräuter
Ελληνικά: Ακταία
English: Baneberry, bugbane
eesti: Siumari
suomi: Konnanmarjat
hornjoserbsce: Čornica
հայերեն: Ագռավագի
日本語: ルイヨウショウマ属
lietuvių: Juodžolė
Nederlands: Christoffelkruid
norsk: Trollbær
polski: czerniec
русский: Воронец
slovenčina: samorastlík
svenska: Trolldruvesläktet
Winaray: Actaea
中文: 类叶升麻属

Actaea, commonly called baneberry, bugbane and cohosh, is a genus of flowering plants of the family Ranunculaceae, native to subtropical, temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America.

Taxonomy

The genus was redefined to include Cimicifuga and Souliea in the 1990s[1] (Compton et al. 1998, Compton & Culham 2002, Gao et al. 2006, RHS Plant Finder, 2007) based on combined evidence from DNA sequence data, similarity in biochemical constituents and on morphology returning it to the original Linnean concept of the genus.[2] The number of species in Actaea is to 25–30 using this concept. Other botanists (e.g., Hoffman 1999, Wang et al. 1999, Lee & Park 2004, Wang et al. 2009[3]) reject this merger because only one group (Actaea) have fleshy fruit while the remainder have dry fruit. However, this narrower generic concept works for only a single morphological character and other characters such as number of carpels moves the generic boundary. The genus is treated here in its broader sense. The Plant List lists 30 species, and does not list Cimicifuga separately but treats it as a synonym.[4]

Selected species

Actaea arizonica – Arizona bugbane
Actaea asiatica
Actaea elata
Actaea matsumurae – Kamchatka bugbane, Japanese bugbane
Actaea pachypoda – white baneberry, white cohosh, doll's eyes
Actaea podocarpa
Actaea racemosa – black cohosh, black bugbane
Actaea rubra (syn. Actaea erythrocarpa) – red baneberry
Actaea simplex
Actaea spicata (syn. Actaea alba) – baneberry, herb christopher

Etymology

Actaea is derived from the Greek name for elder (Sambucus); it was named by Pliny because the leaves of Actaea and Sambucus are similar in appearance.[5]

The name Actaea alba (L.) Mill. is a confused one (Fernald 1940); although described as an American species (now named A. pachypoda), the illustration on which the description was based was actually a picture of the European A. spicata, and strictly, the name is therefore a synonym of the European species. Some texts, however, still treat A. pachypoda under this name.
Use and toxicity
White baneberry (Actaea pachypoda) in Canada

Baneberry contains cardiac 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.[6] 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.[7]

The roots of A. rubra contain β-sitosterol glucoside.[8]
References
References

Compton, James A.; Culham, Alastair; Jury, Stephen L. (1998). "Reclassification of Actaea to include Cimicifuga and Souliea (Ranunculaceae): Phytogeny inferred from morphology, nrDNA ITS, and cpDNA trnL‐F sequence variation". Taxon. 47 (3): 593–634. doi:10.2307/1223580. JSTOR 1223580.
Compton, James A.; Culham, Alastair (2002). "Phylogeny and Circumscription of Tribe Actaeeae (Ranunculaceae)". Systematic Botany. 27 (3): 502–511. doi:10.1043/0363-6445-27.3.502 (inactive 31 October 2021). JSTOR 3093958.
Wang et al 2009.
The Plant List 2013, Actaea
Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521866453 (hardback), ISBN 9780521685535 (paperback). p 35
Camilla Bergstrøm. Feeding rabbits: Toxic plants
Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West, Gregory L. Tilford, ISBN 0-87842-359-1[page needed]

Ali, Zulfiqar; Khan, Shabana; Khan, Ikhlas (2006). "Phytochemical Study of Actaea rubra and Biological Screenings of Isolates". Planta Medica. 72 (14): 1350–2. doi:10.1055/s-2006-951696. PMID 17024608. S2CID 31141951.

Bibliography

Compton, J. A.; Culham, A.; Jury, S. L. (1998). "Reclassification of Actaea to Include Cimicifuga and Souliea (Ranunculaceae): Phylogeny Inferred from Morphology, nrDNA ITS, and cpDNA trnL-F Sequence Variation". Taxon. 47 (3): 593–634. doi:10.2307/1223580. JSTOR 1223580.
Compton, James A.; Culham, Alastair (2002). "Phylogeny and Circumscription of Tribe Actaeeae (Ranunculaceae)". Systematic Botany. 27 (3): 502–11. doi:10.1043/0363-6445-27.3.502 (inactive 31 October 2021). JSTOR 3093958.
Compton, J.A.; Culham, A.; Gibbings, J.G.; Jury, S.L. (March 1998). "Phylogeny of Actaea including Cimicifuga (Ranunculaceae) inferred from nrDNA ITS sequence variation". Biochemical Systematics and Ecology. 26 (2): 185–197. doi:10.1016/S0305-1978(97)00102-6.
Compton, J.A.; Culham, A.; Gibbings, J.G.; Jury, S.L. (March 1998). "Phylogeny of Actaea including Cimicifuga (Ranunculaceae) inferred from nrDNA ITS sequence variation". Biochemical Systematics and Ecology. 26 (2): 185–197. doi:10.1016/S0305-1978(97)00102-6.
Fernald, M. L. (1940). "What is Actaea alba?". Rhodora. 42: 260–5.
Hoffmann, Matthias H. (1999). "The phylogeny of Actaea (Ranunculaceae): A biogeographical approach". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 216 (3–4): 251–63. doi:10.1007/BF01084402. S2CID 34758864.
Lee, Hyun-Woo; Park, Chong-Wook (2004). "New Taxa of Cimicifuga (Ranunculaceae) from Korea and the United States" (PDF). Novon. 14 (2): 180–184. JSTOR 3393313.
RHS Plant Finder https://web.archive.org/web/20070711161100/http://www.rhs.org.uk/RHSPlantFinder/plantfinder.asp
Wang, Wen-Tsai; Li, Liang-Qian; Wang, Zheng (1999). "Notulae de Ranunculaceis sinensibus (XXIII)". Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica. 37 (3): 209–19.
Wang, Wei; Lu, An-Ming; Ren, Yi; Endress, Mary E.; Chen, Zhi-Duan (January 2009). "Phylogeny and classification of Ranunculales: Evidence from four molecular loci and morphological data". Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics. 11 (2): 81–110. doi:10.1016/j.ppees.2009.01.001.
Germplasm Resources Information Network: Actaea (treats genus in broad sense)
Flora of China: Actaea (treats genus in narrow sense)
Flora of North America: Actaea (treats genus in narrow sense)
Edible and Medicinal plants of the West, Gregory L. Tilford, ISBN 0-87842-359-1
The Plant List (2013). "The Plant List Version 1.1". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 7 July 2015.