This plant is White Baneberry(Actaea pachypoda). I've seen a lot of different plants with berries on my travels as The Everyday Adventurer, but these are the first I've seen that are colored white. They are attractive plants, and look unique to me. They are also called Doll's Eyes, because they look like old doll's eyes. Some of them deceptively look rather tasty, but these white ones look rather unappetizing. As I've said before, don't eat anything you find in nature. You never know what might be poisonous. These are a fine example. Even though they look bad tasting to me, maybe someone else might disagree. These are very poisonous, which is why they are named baneberry. The berries are the most poisonous part of the plant. Baneberry plants contain cardiogenic toxins that can have a sedative effect on the human heart. Eating these berries can lead to cardiac arrest and death. These plants are harmless to birds, their primary seed disperser. In short, a good example of look but don't touch.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
White Baneberry
This plant is White Baneberry(Actaea pachypoda). I've seen a lot of different plants with berries on my travels as The Everyday Adventurer, but these are the first I've seen that are colored white. They are attractive plants, and look unique to me. They are also called Doll's Eyes, because they look like old doll's eyes. Some of them deceptively look rather tasty, but these white ones look rather unappetizing. As I've said before, don't eat anything you find in nature. You never know what might be poisonous. These are a fine example. Even though they look bad tasting to me, maybe someone else might disagree. These are very poisonous, which is why they are named baneberry. The berries are the most poisonous part of the plant. Baneberry plants contain cardiogenic toxins that can have a sedative effect on the human heart. Eating these berries can lead to cardiac arrest and death. These plants are harmless to birds, their primary seed disperser. In short, a good example of look but don't touch.
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I said I'd return any visit :)
ReplyDeleteYou might want to get a couple of field guides if you already haven't done so. I use a number and 'need' more.
Peterson:
Wildflowers (northeast / northcentral)
Edible Wildflowers
Medicinal Plants (northeast / northcentral)
Audubon Field Guide to North American Wildflowers (eastern)
I use the Audubon mainly to back up the Peterson. Peterson only has illustrations and can sometimes be very hard to identify plants with.
I used to carry them around with me but now I take photos and ID the plants at home.
Thanks for the tip. I'll check into these. I never intended to learn this much about plants, but I'm finding it rather enjoyable. I think I'll continue learning.
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