What is "actaea"

Actaea \Actaea\ n. 1. 1 baneberry.

Syn: genus Actaea

Actaea, commonly called baneberry or bugbane, is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae, native to subtropical, temperate and subartic regions of the Europe, Asia and North America, but the majority is endemic to parts of North America.

The genus is closely related to Cimicifuga and Souliea, and many botanists include those genera within Actaea (e.g., Compton et al. 1998, Compton & Culham 2002, Gao et al. 2006, RHS Plant Finder, 2007) based on combined evidence from DNA sequence data, similarity in biochemical constituents and on morphology; if included, the number of species in Actaea rises to 25-30. Other botanists (e.g., Hoffman 1999, Wang et al. 1999, Lee & Park 2004) reject this merger because only one group (Actaea) have fleshy fruit while the remainder have dry fruit. The genus is treated here in its broader sense.

• Actaea arizonica – Arizona bugbane
• Actaea asiatica
• Actaea elata
• Actaea pachypoda – white baneberry, white cohosh, doll's eyes
• Actaea podocarpa
• Actaea racemosa – black cohosh, black bugbane
• Actaea rubra (syn. Actaea erythrocarpa) – red baneberry
• Actaea spicata (syn. Actaea alba) – baneberry, herb christopher

The name Actaea alba (L.) Mill. is a confused one (Fernald 1940); although described as an American species (now named A. pachypoda), the illustration on which the description was based was actually a picture of the European A. spicata, and strictly, the name is therefore a synonym of the European species. Some texts, however, still treat A. pachypoda under this name.

Actaea is recorded as a food plant for the larva of the Dot Moth.

Actaea may refer to:

In Greek mythology (Ἁκταία, from ἁκτή "seashore"):

• Actaea, one of the Nereids
• Actaea, one of the Danaids, daughter of Danaus and Pieria. She married Periphas, son of Aegyptus.
• Actaea, the former name of Attica. It was renamed in honour of Atthis, daughter of Cranaus.

In biology:

• Actaea (plant), a genus of flowering plants
• Actaea (crab), a genus of crabs

In astronomy:

• Actaea (moon), the moon of the trans-Neptunian object 120347 Salacia

Actaea, officially (120347) Salacia I Actaea, is the single known natural satellite of the classical Kuiper belt object 120347 Salacia. Its diameter is estimated 300 km, which is ⅓ of the diameter of Salacia; thus, Salacia and Actaea are viewed by some to be a binary object. Actaea is about the sixth-biggest known moon of a Kuiper belt object, after Charon (1212 km), Dysnomia (685 km), Vanth (378 km), Ilmarë (361 km) and Hiiaka (320 km).

Actaea is a genus of crabs in the family Xanthidae, containing the following species:

• Actaea acantha (H. Milne-Edwards, 1834)
• Actaea allisoni Garth, 1985
• Actaea angusta Rathbun, 1898
• Actaea areolata (Dana, 1852)
• Actaea bifrons Rathbun, 1898
• Actaea bocki Odhner, 1925
• Actaea calculosa (H. Milne-Edwards, 1834)
• Actaea capricornensis Ward, 1933
• Actaea carcharias White, 1848
• Actaea catalai Guinot, 1976
• Actaea flosculata Alcock, 1898
• Actaea fragifera (White, 1848)
• Actaea glandifera Rathbun, 1914
• Actaea granulata
• Actaea grimaldii Ng & Bouchet, 2015
• Actaea hieroglyphica Odhner, 1925
• Actaea hystrix Miers, 1886
• Actaea jacquelinae Guinot, 1976
• Actaea occidentalis Odhner, 1925
• Actaea peronii (H. Milne-Edwards, 1834)
• Actaea perspinosa Borradaile, 1902
• Actaea petalifera Odhner, 1925
• Actaea picta Zehntner, 1894
• Actaea polyacantha (Heller, 1861)
• Actaea polydora (Herbst, 1801)
• Actaea pura Stimpson, 1858
• Actaea rueppellii (Krauss, 1843)
• Actaea sabae Nobili, 1905
• Actaea savignii (H. Milne-Edwards, 1834)
• Actaea semblatae Guinot, 1976
• Actaea spinosissima Borradaile, 1902
• Actaea spongiosa (Dana, 1852)
• Actaea squamosa Henderson, 1893
• Actaea squamulosa Odhner, 1925
• Actaea tessellata Pocock, 1890