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Baneberry (Actaea spicata) is also known as Toadroot and Baneberry and is found in copses on limestone in Yorkshire and the Lake District, but it is so uncommon as to be regarded by some botanists as almost a doubtful native.
The Baneberry, or Herb Christopher, is a rather rare British plant belonging (like the Peony) to the Buttercup order, but distinguished from all other species in the order by its berry-like fruit. It is considered to have similar anti-spasmodic properties to the Peony.
The whole plant is dark green and glabrous (without hairs), or only very slightly downy. It flowers in June and in autumn ripens its fruits, which are egg-shaped berries, 1/2 inch long, black and shining, many-seeded and very poisonous, well justifying the popular name of Baneberry. The plant is of an acrid, poisonous nature throughout, and though the root has been used in some nervous cases, and is said to be a remedy for catarrh, it must be administered with great caution.
Baneberry is considered antispasmodic. The juice of the berries, mixed with Alum Root, yields a black dye. The American species is considered by the natives a valuable remedy against snake-bite, especially of the rattlesnake, hence it is - with several other plants - sometimes known as one of the 'Rattlesnake herbs.'
Toads seem to be attracted by the smell of the Baneberry, which causes it also to be termed Toadroot, the name arising possibly also from its preference for the damp shady situations in which the toad is found. It is also called Bugbane, because of its offensive smell, which is said to drive away vermin. Closely allied to this plant, and at one time assigned to the same genus, is the plant known as Black Cohosh.
