WHITE BANEBERRY i Dolls Eyes) 



Actaea alba (L.) Mill. 



April 111 a orcamy plume of llowors c()iii])()S(m1 ciitiroly of a wliorl 



Woods of white stanu'ii-s annind a ])istil disk, the white baneberry 

 ill A])iil blooms in the deep hilly woods of Illinois. 



The stamens actually are slender petiils transformed at the tips into 

 stamens. The whole llower eluster is a creamy white idiime standin;? tall 

 on a still' stem above the leafy ])lant. The leaves are dark <rreen. toothed 

 and compound, rather like elderberry leaves, so that Linnaeus in naming 

 the baneberry called it Actaea which is the Greek name for the elder. 



l^anel)eny l)looms in AjJiil. Then in the <rr(>wiiiir leafiness of the 

 woods tlie ])lant is inconspicuous, though it is large. On the end of the 

 llower stalk forms a cluster of green berries which, as late summer comes 

 into the woods, are transformed into something uni«|ue. The stems on 

 which the l)crries grow are caniiine and very stout, almost as thick as 

 the berries themselves. And the oval fruits are china-white with a purple 

 spot at the end. They are often called doll's eyes by children who lind 

 them there, for the resemblance to old-fa.shioned china dolls' eyes is most 

 striking. 'I'he well-sjtaced cluster of white fruits on red stems is one of 

 the ornamental sights of the late summer woikIs. The l)erries. however, are 

 poi.sonous; they have a toxic and dizzying (juality when eaten — hence the 

 old name of baneberry — and should be avoided as foixl. But as something 

 beautiful, something startlingly whit(> in the dark w<M>d.s, the white bane- 

 berry is remarkable. 



Red baneberiT (Actaea rubra) has a similar flower cluster but the 

 fruiting stalk bears brilliant scarlet, shining berries in exact contrast to 

 those of the white, and the leaves are a darker, glossier green. 



3G 



