Actaea rubra - Red Baneberry

Habitat

Exposition

Ombre ou mi-ombre

Humidité

Humidité moyenne.

Sol

Tous sols.

pH

Sol acide ou calcaire

Rusticité

Zone 3

Habitat originel

Moist shady areas, mostly in deciduous forests but also in mixed coniferous forests, open pine or spruce woodlands, swales, stream banks and swamps from sea level to 3500 metres[270].

Origine géographique

N. America - Alaska to California and eastwards to Newfoundland and Philadelphia.

Dangers connus

• All parts of the plant are toxic[172], apparently acting upon the heart [212].

Usages médicinaux

• The whole plant, but especially the root, is analgesic, antirheumatic, galactogogue and rubefacient [172, 257].
• The plant was often used medicinally by North American Indian tribes, though modern users should be aware of the plants potential toxicity .
• A tea made from the root is used as an appetizer, in the treatment of stomach pains, coughs, colds, menstrual irregularities, post partum pains, to increase milk flow and as a purgative after childbirth [222, 257].
• Great caution should be employed if using this plant internally, the rootstock is a violent purgative, irritant and emetic [212].

Culture

• Tolerates most conditions[233], but prefers a humus-rich moist soil in light shade[200, 233] doing well amongst shrubs and in light woods [1].
• Also succeeds in denser shade [187].
• Plants are hardy to at least -20°c [187].
• Plante très ornementale [1].
• Actaea rubra is part of a circumboreal complex and is very similar to the black-fruited European species A . spicata (L.) with which it is sometimes considered conspecific [270].
• The western North American plants of A . rubra have been called A . arguta and were distinguished on the basis of their smaller berries, more pubescent leaves, and narrow, more dissected leaflets .
• Those distinctions, however, are weak; specimens from the West often have fruits and leaves similar to those of plants from the East [270].
• Une plante avare qui inhibe la croissance des plantes alentours, notamment les légumes [54].

Propagation

• Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame or outdoors in a moist shaded seedbed [200].
• The seed has a limited viability[200], it can also be sown in spring in a cold frame but germination rates may be poor .
• 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 March or October .