Species › Plants › White Baneberry

White Baneberry

Actaea pachypoda

CommonPlant
Illustration of White Baneberry (Actaea pachypoda)
Safety note: All plant parts and especially the berries are highly toxic. Called 'doll's eyes' — do not eat.

White Baneberry produces the most striking fruits of any North American woodland wildflower — waxy white berries each with a prominent black dot, sitting on swollen red stalks, creating an uncanny resemblance to doll's eyes. Found in rich deciduous forests across eastern North America, the plant grows 1–2 feet tall. The berries are highly toxic to humans but eaten by birds that are unaffected. It produces flat-topped clusters of small white flowers in spring.

Habitat
Found in rich, moist deciduous forests and wooded slopes across eastern North America.
Diet
Toxic to humans but berries consumed by robins, thrushes, and other birds; seeds dispersed by frugivores.
How common
Common

Best time to see a White Baneberry

The best time to see a White Baneberry is July–September, when about 63% of U.S. sightings happen, based on 21,704 research-grade iNaturalist observations.

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