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''Actaea'', commonly called baneberry or bugbane, is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae, native to subtropical, temperate and subartic regions of the Europe, Asia and North America, but the majority is endemic to parts of North America. The genus is closely related to ''Cimicifuga'' and ''Souliea'', and many botanists include those genera within ''Actaea'' (e.g., Compton et al. 1998, Compton & Culham 2002, Gao et al. 2006, RHS Plant Finder, 2007) based on combined evidence from DNA sequence data, similarity in biochemical constituents and on morphology; if included, the number of species in ''Actaea'' rises to 25-30. Other botanists (e.g., Hoffman 1999, Wang et al. 1999, Lee & Park 2004) reject this merger because only one group (''Actaea'') have fleshy fruit while the remainder have dry fruit. The genus is treated here in its broader sense. ; Selected species * ''Actaea arizonica'' – Arizona bugbane * ''Actaea asiatica'' * ''Actaea pachypoda'' – white baneberry, white cohosh, doll's eyes * ''Actaea podocarpa'' * ''Actaea racemosa'' – black cohosh, black bugbane * ''Actaea rubra'' (syn. ''Actaea erythrocarpa'') – red baneberry * ''Actaea spicata'' (syn. ''Actaea alba'') – baneberry, herb christopher The name ''Actaea alba'' (L.) Mill. is a confused one (Fernald 1940); although described as an American species (now named ''A. pachypoda''), the illustration on which the description was based was actually a picture of the European ''A. spicata'', and strictly, the name is therefore a synonym of the European species. Some texts, however, still treat ''A. pachypoda'' under this name. ''Actaea'' is recorded as a food plant for the larva of the Dot Moth. == Use and toxicity == Baneberry contains cardiogenic toxins than can have an immediate sedative effect on human cardiac muscle. The berries are the most poisonous part of the plant (hence the name baneberry). Children have been poisoned by eating the waxy, shiny red or white berries. Ingestion of the berries can lead to cardiac arrest and death. It is toxic to rabbits.〔http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Food/Toxic_plants_en.pdf〕 The berries are harmless to birds, the plant's primary seed disperser. ''Actaea'' species are closely related to plants in the genus Aconitum, a highly toxic plant genus which contains ''wolfbane'' and several varieties of ''monkshood''.〔Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West, Gregory L. Tilford, ISBN 0-87842-359-1〕 The roots of ''A. rubra'' contain β-sitosterol glucoside, and they were used medicinally by Native Americans as an alternative to Black Cohosh, (''A. racemosa''), for menstrual cramping and menopausal discomfort. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Actaea (plant)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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