710 457. Actaea. 85. RANUNCULACEiE. Pl.ex.thal. 
A. Ranunculaceje spurije. Anthers opening on the 
inner side. 
I. 457. ACT7EA. Pliny. Herl-Christopher. 
Calyx 4-sepaled; deciduous; corolla 4-petaled; stamens 
indefinite; anthers fastened inwardly; ovary 1, ovate; 
stigma capitate, sessile ; pericarpium (berry) fleshy, not 
opening; seeds many, horizontal, in 2 series. — Herb peren- 
nial ; leaves petioled, simple, lobed and variously cut ; 
flowers racemose; peduncle bracteated; sepales and petals 
very deciduous. 
Actea spicala. Spiked herb- Christopher. 
Perry nearly globular ; petals as long as the stamens ; 
racemes ovate ; leaves bi-ternately or tri-ternately cut ; lobes 
ovate, lanceolate, serrated or slightly cut. 
Christophoriana, Raii Syn. 262; Ger. em. 979. 
Christophoriana vulgaris, Park. 279. 
Actaea spicata, Lin. S. P. 722. 
Christophoriana spicata, Moench Meth . 279. 
Baneberries. 
Alpine woods on limestone; perennial; May and June. 
Root fibrous ; leaves bald ; bracteee oblong ; flowers race- 
mose ; berries black. — Root useful in nervous diseases ; 
herb repellent ; berries very active, poisonous. 
II. 458. PiEONIA. Theophrastus. Piony. 
Calyx 5-sepaled ; sepales leaflike, unequal, orbicular, 
persistent; petals 5 to 10, orbicular, nearly equal, not 
clawed; stamens indefinite; anthers fastened outwardly; 
ovaries 2 to 5, girt by a fleshy disk ; stigmata sessile, two- 
lamellar ; camares 2 to 5, ovate, 1 -celled, many-seeded ; 
.seeds shining, nearly globular; corculum basillary. — Root 
perennial ; crown horizontal, thick ; fibres fasciculate, 
thickened or tuberculated ; sheaths scaly, at the bottom of 
the stem; leaves alternate, twice ternate; flowers terminal. 
1. Pceonia corallina. Coral piony. 
Stem herbaceous ; camares woolly, bent back from the 
bottom; leaves 2-ternate; lobes ovate, not cut, bald. 
Paeonia mas, Raii Syn. Ind. pi. dub.; Ger . em. 980, 1 ; Park. 1381. 
Paeonia officinalis mascula, Lin. S. P. 747 /?. 
Paeonia fcemina, Miller Diet. 
Paeonia corallina, Retz Observ. 354. 
Male piony. Male peionie. 
