Actaea racemosa (Black Snakeroot)

Actaea racemosa

Black Snakeroot, Black Baneberry, Black Bugbane, Black Cohosh, Fairy Candle

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	racemosa	Latin for "has a raceme," or flower spike (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)

About plant names...

Black snakeroot is native to eastern North America.

Identification: Plants reach 10-24" (25-60 cm). On all of the baneberries, leaves often occur in groups of three, on thin stems, and are saw-toothed. White flowers form on tall stalks up to 8' (2.5 m) in height, with the flowering portions up to 20" (50 cm) tall.

Don’t confuse black snakeroot with the unrelated plant, Canadian black snakeroot. Both of these plants are found in eastern Canada and the eastern United States.

5/22/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA
≈ 31 × 21" (78 × 52 cm)

Some similar plants:

	You are here Actaea racemosa	*Actaea racemosa var. racemosa*	*Actaea rubifolia*
Name	Black Snakeroot	Black Cohosh	Appalachian Bugbane
Plant	Plants reach 10-24" (25-60 cm).	Plants are 3-6' (91-182 cm) tall, rarely to 9' (2.7 m); and fast-growing.	Plants are 12-55" (30-140 cm) tall.
Flowers	White flowers form on tall stalks up to 8' (2.5 m) in height, with the flowering portions up to 20" (50 cm) tall.	Long, attractive, feathery-looking spikes 6-24" (15-60 cm) long. Individual flowers have 4-5 sepals and are about ⅜" (9.5 mm) in diameter.	White flowers form long, attractive, feathery-looking spikes 6-24" (15-60 cm) long, straight or slightly curved. Individual flowers have 5 sepals and are about ⅜" (9.5 mm) in diameter.
Leaves	Leaves often occur in groups of three, on thin stems, and are saw-toothed.	Toothed, irregular in shape, in roughly triangular clusters tipped by a larger three-lobed leaflets. Leaflets are 1-4" (3-10 cm) long.	Toothed, shaped like maple leaves. Leaflets are 6-12" (15-30 cm) long.
Fruit	Black or dark brown seeds.	Fruits are ⅛-¼" (6-9 mm) long, thick, and leathery.	Fruits are ⅛" (3 mm) around, and reddish brown.
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Rich soils in moist woods, ravines	Rich, moist deciduous woods
Type	Wild	Wild	Wild
Occurrence	Common	Endangered in IL and MA	Endangered

	*Sanicula canadensis*
Name	Canadian Black Snakeroot
Plant	Plants are 12-24" (30-60 cm) high. Stems are light green, sometimes furrowed.
Flowers	Small clusters, greenish-white, not especially interesting.
Leaves	In groups of three, and are less than 3" (7.6 cm) long.
Fruit	Seed pods are about ½" (1.3 cm) in diameter, and resemble burrs, with small hooks.
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Rich woods, open rocky woods, thickets
Type	Wild
Occurrence	Common

Edibility: Most members of the buttercup family, including other species of Actaea, are poisonous. Though black snakeroot is not considered a strong poison, its use for medicinal purposes is not adequately supported or refuted by scientific studies. (See the Wikipedia article below, or this article from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.) Liver damage has been reported in a few cases.

Online References:

Actaea racemosa on Wikipedia

Actaea racemosa on Discover Life

Actaea racemosa on the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program (PDF)

Actaea racemosa var. racemosa at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Actaea racemosa at the Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

Actaea racemosa on Erv Evans' site at the North Carolina State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (PDF)

Actaea racemosa description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 17 Feb 2012.

5/22/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA
≈ 3½ × 2½' (1.2 × 0.8 m)

Range:

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