PlantPeers
Back to Catalog
No image available
Ranunculaceae FAMILY

Actaea pachypoda

Actaea pachypoda

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
1/5

Safety & Hazards

All parts of the plant are toxic, causing severe gastrointestinal inflammation and skin blisters[1]. Berries are extremely poisonous if ingested, and consideration should be given to avoid planting this species in areas frequented by young children[2].

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Prefers a moist, organically rich, humusy, well-drained soil in part shade to full shade, though it is a tough plant that tolerates most conditions[3, 2]. Grows best in the wild or woodland garden[4]. Self-seeding may occur in optimum growing conditions where the berries fall to the ground. If naturalization is desired, the berries may be picked as soon as they ripen and then immediately planted into the ground in order to promote colonial spread[2].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame or in a sheltered outdoor bed[4]. Completely remove the seed pulp since this can inhibit germination. Stored seed does not usually germinate well[4]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer of the following year. Division in spring. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Actaea+pachypoda>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. — Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. · Houghton Mifflin Co. · 1990 · ISBN 0395467225 ↩︎A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
  2. [2]KemperCentreForHomeGardeningPlantFinder — Missouri Botanical Garden · http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/ ↩︎Basic cultivation details, plant uses, habitat etc for several thousand species of plants, mainly from the temperate zone.
  3. [3]Perennial Garden Plants — Thomas. G. S. · J. M. Dent & Sons, London. · 1990 · ISBN 0 460 86048 8 ↩︎A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
  4. [4]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  5. [5]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
  6. [6]The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. — Coffey. T. · Facts on File. · 1993 · ISBN 0-8160-2624-6 ↩︎A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.
  7. [7]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 1998 · ISBN 0-88192-453-9 ↩︎Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
  8. [8]Earth Medicine, Earth Food. — Weiner. M. A. · Ballantine Books · 1980 · ISBN 0-449-90589-6 ↩︎A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.