Actaea dahurica

Actaea dahurica (synonym Cimicifuga dahurica) is a tall perennial herb of the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, growing to about 1 to 2 metres. It produces large, two- to three-times ternately compound leaves with toothed, ovate leaflets borne on long petioles. The plant is often dioecious or polygamous, with small whitish flowers lacking showy petals arranged in long, slender, branched racemes that rise well above the foliage in late summer. The fruit is a dry follicle containing several flattened seeds. The thick, knotty rhizome is dark brown externally and lighter within. Native to north-eastern Asia, including north-eastern China, the Russian Far East, Korea, and Mongolia, it grows in woodland margins, scrub, and grassy mountain slopes. As with other members of the genus, the plant contains cycloartane triterpene glycosides and is considered toxic if consumed raw in quantity.