E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Actaea elata (Nutt.) Prantl var. elata
tall bugbane
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants
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E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Actaea elata var. elata
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Species Information

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General:
Perennial herb from a woody rhizome; stems erect, branched above, 120-180 cm tall, sparsely minutely-hairy to woolly-hairy, glandular, especially above.
Leaves:
Alternate, stalked, the stalks to 40 cm long, angled, grooved on stem side, basal wings clasping stem; leaves large, to 80 cm long, twice 3-parted, leaflets heart-egg-shaped, 5-18 cm long, 7-23 cm wide, usually 3-lobed and again shallowly and irregularly lobed and toothed, the teeth gland-tipped, palmately veined, pointy-tipped, fine-hairy beneath, smooth above, margins fringed.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a terminal cluster of 4- to 14-flowered, raceme-like branches, 7-17 cm long, the inflorescence stalks subtended by 3 bracts, the central bract largest, lance awl-shaped; inflorescence glandular-hairy; flower stalks 1-8 mm long; petals absent; sepals 5, white or pinkish, egg-shaped, early deciduous; stamens 20-30, cream-coloured, showy, the outer sometimes broadened; pistils 1 to 3, glandular-hairy.
Fruits:
Follicles, usually 1 in upper flowers, often 2 or rarely 3 in lower flowers of racemes, oblong, 8-12 mm long, somewhat flattened, thin-walled, finely glandular-hairy; unstalked or stalks to 2 mm long; seeds reddish to purplish-brown, lens-shaped, about 2

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Moist forests in the lower montane zone; rare in extreme SW BC, known only from the Cultus Lake-Chilliwack River area; S to NW OR.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

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General References