Edith Sherwood Ph.D. and Erica Sherwood

The Voynich Botanical Plants

Folio 89vmiddle Back to Plant List
folio 89vmiddle

Folio 89v middle, Baneberry or bugbane (Actaea spicata), is a very poisonous, bad smelling, member of the ranunculus family. It has creeping black roots that each year send up erect stems with triangular, toothed, compound leaves, that end in a spike of white flowers. The fruit is a fairly large glossy, black berry. The whole plant is poisonous. The juice of the berries, mixed with alum, yields a black dye.