Flower ID: IMG_0637.JPG-07-28-2018 Flower name (scientific): Actaea rubra (Aiton) Willdenow PY: 1809. Pronunciation guide: (phonetic spelling) ak-TEE-uh ROO-brah Flower name (common): Red Baneberry Family name (common): Buttercup Family name (scientific): Ranunculaceae Scientific name origin: Genus: A name given by Pliny and derived from the Greek name for Sambucus (elder), because of the similarity of the leaves of the two species. Specific epithet: Latin for red. Common name origin: Red Baneberry comes from usual color of the toxic berries. Flower description: Size: 0.2 to 0.3 inches (5 to 8 mm) Petal count: 4 Color: white Other: flower arrangement, Cluster-spherical Plant description: Size: 12 to 36 inches (30 to 91 cm) Stem hairy: glabrous. Other: Leaf description: attachment is alternate, type is compound Size: Typically leaflets are about 3.8 to 5 cm (1.5 to 2 inches) long and about 3.8 to 5 cm (1.5 to 2 inches) wide. Color: Leaflets adaxially medium green, abaxially slightly more pale. Hairy: Leaflets abaxially glabrous or pubescent. Other: Shape: leaf, bipinnate or tripinnate, leaflet (ultimate) ovate (IL), oval-oblong (FWI). Typically 3 primary leaflets that subdivide into 3 to 5 leaflets. Origin (native, introduced, invasive): Native Status (common, uncommon, threatened, rare): Common Bloom time (typical): May to June Cycle (annual, biennial, perennial): Perennial Habitat: Woodlands, forests, shade or part shade, moderate moisture. Fruit: A red berry with a black dot at the apex. One berry per flower stalk. Sometimes white berries occur. At the fuiting stage, pedicels are light green. Seed: Colored brown about 2 to 5 mm in length. Importance to wildlife: Similar species (if any): Actaea pachypoda (White Baneberry) is a close lookalike. The berries of A. rubra are red (sometimes white) with a black dot, whereas the berries of A. pachypoda are white with a black dot (rarely red). The simplest way to separate these two species is that A. rubra has slender pedicels (stalks) for the flowers and fruit, whereas A. pachypoda has thickish white to light green-colored pedicels for the flowers and fruits, with those to the fuits turning red with age. Ethnobotany: The Chippewa and Potwatomi used the roots as a gynecolgical aid (Densmore, p. 358, 1928; Smith, p. 382, 1932; Smith, p. 72, 1933). The Ojibwa employed the plant to treat stomach pain (Hoffman, p. 201, 1891). The Algonquin, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Cree, and Thompson also employed the plant for medicinal use (Moerman, pp. 48–49, 1998). Latitude: 44.795602 Longitude: -91.500422 Altitude: 247.30 Distribution: In Wisconsin: (Adams, Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Brown, Buffalo, Burnett, Calumet, Chippewa, Clark, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Door, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, Florence, Fond du Lac, Forest, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Iron, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Lafayette, Langlade, Lincoln, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marinette, Marquette, Milwaukee, Monroe, Oconto, Oneida, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Portage, Price, Racine, Richland, Rock, Rusk, Sauk, Sawyer, Shawano, Sheboygan, St. Croix, Taylor, Trempealeau, Vernon, Vilas, Walworth, Washburn, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Wood) Click here for distribution map In US: (AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, MA, ME, MI, MN, MT, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, WY) In Canada: (AB, BC, LB, MB, NB, NF, NS, NT, ON, PE, QC, SK, YT) References: Synonym(s): Actaea alba (L.) Mill., Actaea americana var. alba (L.) Pursh, Actaea americana var. rubra (Aiton) Pursh, Actaea arguta Nuttall, Actaea arguta var. alabastrina Lunell, Actaea arguta var. eburnea (Rydb.) Cockerell, Actaea arguta var. pauciflora R.R.Gates, Actaea aspleniifolia Greene, Actaea brachypetala DC., Actaea brachypetala var. alba (L.) DC., Actaea brachypetala var. rubra (Aiton) DC., Actaea californica Greene, Actaea caudata Greene, Actaea eburnea Rydb., Actaea longipes Spach, Actaea neglecta Greene, Actaea rubra f. neglecta (Gillmann) B. L. Rob., Actaea rubra subsp. arguta (Nutt.) Hultén, Actaea rubra var. arguta (Nutt.) M.A.Lawson, Actaea rubra var. dissecta Britton, Actaea rubra var. gigantea R.R.Gates, Actaea rubra f. neglecta (Gillmann) B.L.Rob., Actaea spicata var. alba L., Actaea spicata var. arguta (Nutt. ex Torr. & A.Gray) Torr., Actaea spicata subsp. arguta (Nutt.) Hultén, Actaea spicata var. dissecta (Britton) K.C.Davis, Actaea spicata subsp. rubra (Aiton) Hultén, Actaea spicata var. rubra Aiton, Actaea viridiflora Greene, Actaea viridiflora var. clementiorum R.R.Gates, Christophoriana alba (L.) Nieuwl., Christophoriana arguta (Nutt. ex Torr. & A.Gray) Lunell, Christophoriana arguta var. alabastrina Lunell, Christophoriana rubra (Aiton) Nieuwl., Dipleina umbellata Raf. Basionym: Actaea spicata var.rubra Aiton Hort. Kew. 2: 221, 1789. Homotypic Synonym(s): The POWO lists six homotypic synonyms for this species. Heterotypic Synonym(s): The POWO lists 32 heterotypic synonyms for this species. Autonym: na