Red baneberry

Actaea rubra

Actée rouge

Uses
Presentation
Description
Identification
Names
Etymology
Uses
Ethnobotany
Classification

Berries are very toxic and can lead to death

All the plant is violently purgative and highly poisonous.

The lethal dose would be only two fruits for a child and six for an adult.

On the other hand there have been no reported cases of deadly poisoning in North America

It is probably due to the fact that fruits are very bitter and do not incite greediness !

Some voluntary case of poisonings (said of leisure) are documented but it seems that the very unpleasant side effects and the risk of a cardiac arrest does not favor recurrence.

The berries are harmless to birds, the plant's primary seed dispersers.