Actaea racemosa (Black Snakeroot)

Common Names

Common Names in English:

Black Bugbane, Black Cohosh, Black Snakeroot, Fairy Candles

Description

Genus Actaea

Herbs perennial . Rhizome robust , creeping , with numerous fibrous roots . Stems simple , erect . Basal leaves scaly ; cauline leaves alternate, 2 or 3 × ternate , long petiolate . Inflorescence racemose, simple or branched. Flowers small, actinomorphic . Sepals usually 4, petaloid , white, caducous . Petals 1--6, spatulate , yellow, smaller than sepals, without a nectary . Stamens numerous; filaments narrowly linear-filarious; anthers yellowish white, ovate-orbicular. Carpels 1; ovary ellipsoid , glabrous , stigma sessile, compressed , 2-lobed. Fruit a berry, purple-black, red, or white when ripe , subglobose. Seeds several, ovate , brown or black.

About eight species: N temperate regions ; two species in China.

In a recent phylogenetic study (Compton et al. , Taxon 47: 593 634. 1998), Actaea was reclassified to include Cimicifuga and Souliea . However, for the present account, as in FRPS, the authors have maintained the three genera as distinct .Li Liangqian, Michio Tamura "Actaea". in Flora of China Vol. 6 Page 147. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.

Physical Description

Flowers: Bloom Period: April, May, June. • Flower Color: near white, white

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 4-6' tall.

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,092 meters (0 to 3,583 feet).Mean = 313.860 meters (1,029.724 feet), Standard Deviation = 228.930 based on 786 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Biology

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Growth

Culture: Space 24-36" apart.

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Shade.

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b. (map)

Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota () - Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- Kingdom: Animalia () - Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
  - Subkingdom: Bilateria () - (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
    - Branch: Protostomia () - Grobben, 1908
      - Infrakingdom: Ecdysozoa () - Aguinaldo Et Al., 1997 Ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
        Superphylum: Panarthropoda () - Cuvier
        Phylum: Arthropoda () - Latreille, 1829 - arthropods
        Subphylum: Crustacea () - Brünnich, 1772 - Crustaceans
        Infraphylum: Crustaceomorpha () - (Chernyshev, 1960)
        Superclass: Crustacea () - Pennant, 1777 - Crustaceans
        Class: Malacostraca ()
        Subclass: Eumalacostraca () - Grobben, 1892
        Superorder: Eucarida () - Calman, 1904
        Order: Decapoda () - Decapods
        Family: Carpiliidae ()
        Subfamily: Trollioideae ()
        Tribe: Cimicifugeae ()
        Genus: Actaea () - Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 504. 1753; Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 222; 1754. - Baneberry
        Specific name: racemosa - L.
        Scientific name: - Actaea racemosa L.