Actaea rubra ssp. rubra

Native

Moderate moisture. Woods.

May to June

White

18″ to 36″

This 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 red, nearly globular berry containing several seeds. When fruiting the pedicels are dull green or brown and slender, thinner than the stalk to which they are attached.

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 does not occur in Minnesota.