Red baneberry

(Actaea rubra)

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Conservation • Wetland • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Use • Distribution • Taxonomy

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

N5? - Secure
SNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

Wetland Indicator Status

Great Plains

FACU - Facultative upland

Midwest

FACU - Facultative upland

Northcentral & Northeast

FACU - Facultative upland

Description

Red baneberry is a 18″ to 36″ tall, erect, perennial forb that rises from a large, thick rhizome.

The stems are erect and hairless.

The leaves are alternate. The lower leaves are on long stalks, the upper leaves on shorter stalks. They are divided into 3 segments, with each segment divided into 3 leaflets. The leaflets are egg-shaped to oblong and may be unlobed or have 1 to 3 lobes. The margins have deep, sharp, irregular teeth. The upper leaflet surface is hairless. The lower surface is usually hairy, at least with hairs along the veins.

The inflorescence is a dense, ball-like cluster on a long stalk with 25 or more flowers rising at the end of the stem or from an upper leaf axil. It is ¾″ to 6¾″ long and about as wide as long.

The flowers are ¼″ wide. There are 4 to 10 white petals which soon fall off leaving 15 to 50 stamens.

The fruit is a nearly globular berry containing several seeds. It is usually red, sometimes white (f. neglecta). When fruiting the pedicels are dull green or brown and slender, thinner than the stalk to which they are attached.

Height

18″ to 36″

Flower Color

White

Similar Species

White baneberry (Actaea pachypoda) leaflet lower surface is usually hairless. The flower clusters are slightly elongated. The berries are white, rarely red. When fruiting the pedicels are bright red and stout, as thick as the stalk to which they are attached.

The form Actaea rubra f. neglecta has white berries. It is frequent, and in some locations it is the most common form.

Habitat

Moderate moisture. Woods.

Ecology

Flowering

May to June

Pests and Diseases

Use

Distribution

Sources

2, 3, 5, 7, 24, 28, 29, 30, 83.

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu. Accessed 12/26/2025).

Nativity

Native

Occurrence

Common

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae (Plants)

Subkingdom

Pteridobiotina

Phylum

Tracheophyta (Vascular Plants)

Class

Magnoliopsida (Dicots)

Order

Ranunculales (Buttercups, Poppies, and Allies)

Family

Ranunculaceae (Buttercup)

Subfamily

Ranunculoideae (Anemones, Buttercups, Larkspurs, and Allies)

Tribe

Actaeeae (Baneberries, Cohoshes, and Winter Aconites)

Genus

Actaea (Baneberries and Cohoshes)

Subordinate Taxa

Subspecies

A western species Actaea arguta, sometimes treated as Actaea rubra ssp. arguta, has been described based on smaller berries and leaves that are more narrow, more disected, and hairier. Where their ranges overlap they intergrade completely. Most sources treat it as a synonym. It does not occur in Minnesota.

red baneberry (Actaea rubra ssp. arguta)

red baneberry (Actaea rubra ssp. neglecta)

Forms

Plants with white fruit are sometimes treated as Actaea rubra f. neglecta. Most sources treat it as a synonym.

red-fruited red baneberry (Actaea rubra f. rubra)

white-fruited red baneberry (Actaea rubra f. neglecta)

Synonyms

Actaea americana

Actaea rubra f. neglecta

Actaea rubra f. rubra

Actaea rubra ssp. arguta

Actaea rubra ssp. rubra

Actaea rubra var. rubra

Actaea spicata ssp. arguta

Actaea spicata var. arguta

Common Names

baneberry

chinaberry

red baneberry

Glossary

Axil

The upper angle where the leaf stalk meets the stem.

Pedicel

On plants: the stalk of a single flower in a cluster of flowers. On insects: the second segment of the antennae. On Hymenoptera and Araneae: the narrow stalk connecting the thorax to the abdomen: the preferred term is petiole.

Rhizome

A horizontal, usually underground stem. It serves as a reproductive structure, producing roots below and shoots above at the nodes.