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Plant Profile

Arizona Bugbane (Actaea arizonica)

Another view of this plant in flower. Photo Credit: R. Fletcher

Global Rank: G2 - Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Ranunculaceae
State: AZ
Nature Serve ID: 136364
Lifeform: Forb/herb
Date Inducted in National Collection: 04/04/1991

Description:

Arizona bugbane is an herbaceous perennial that reaches 3-6 feet in height. It has large, long-petioled lower leaves and small sessile upper leaves. The toothed leaf blades are divided into three leaflets. This species produces rather showy white flowers that grow on long stalks and bloom in slender clusters of small, petal-less flowers. The seeds resemble furry little bugs. (Phillips et al. 1996) This is a rare plant that has very narrow habitat restrictions. It exists in only four small population areas in Arizona, and is not Federally protected. Major problems facing this species include an apparent lack of genetic variation as well as extremely poor germination rates in cultivation, which hinders attempts to grow individuals for reintroduction programs. (DeWald & Phillips 1996)

Where is Arizona Bugbane (Actaea arizonica) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Often found in the transition zone between coniferous forest and riparian habitat at elevations of 5300 to 8300 feet (1829 to 2529 meters). This species is often found near perennial or intermittent streams, and appears to prefer locations with high humidity and moist, rich, fertile soils. (DeWald & Phillips 1996; Phillips et al. 1996)

Distribution:

Found only in central Arizona, (Coconino and Gila counties). All known populations occur within three National Forests; the Coconino, Kaibab, and Tonto. (DeWald & Phillips 1996)

States & Provinces:

Arizona Bugbane can be found in Arizona

Which CPC Partners conserve Arizona Bugbane (Actaea arizonica)?

The Arboretum at Flagstaff

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 06/09/17

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

Sheila Murray

10/03/2022

CPC received a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for a project entitled, “RNA integrity as a powerful metric of aging in preserved seed collections of wild rare plant species”, and as part of this grant The Arboretum at Flagstaff collected seeds for Actaea arizonica, or Arizona Bugbane. Arizona Bugbane has a distinct strong scent similar to citronella, which may have led to the common name. We collected over 32000 seeds bulked together in September 2022. These tiny fresh seeds will be compared to older seed we collected from the same population to find out how fast rare seeds are losing their viability in storage. The seed collecting conditions in the population were very good, our area received an above average amount of summer precipitation.

08/26/2020

Collect seed from a newly found population in James Canyon to ensure full genetic representation in the seed bank.

08/12/2020

The Arboretum at Flagstaff conducted germination trials in 1990 and found that overall germination was poor. The only successful germination (11%) occurred after 4 months of cold stratification.

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

Endemic to Arizona and only known from the central portion of the state. Less than 20 sites extant.

Joyce Maschinski, Ph.D.

01/01/2010

Flooding Recreation Road construction Timber harvesting Off-road vehicle use Water diversions/impoundments (Phillips et al. 1996)

Joyce Maschinski, Ph.D.

01/01/2010

Found in four population areas in Arizona (DeWald and Phillips 1996).

Joyce Maschinski, Ph.D.

01/01/2010

The Arboretum at Flagstaff conducted germination trials in 1990 and found that overall germination was poor. The only successful germination (11%) occurred after 4 months of cold stratification.

Joyce Maschinski, Ph.D.

01/01/2010

The emphasis has been to preserve the status quo.

Joyce Maschinski, Ph.D.

01/01/2010

Continue research into the life history of this species, and continue work on the conservation assessment and strategy for the species.

Joyce Maschinski, Ph.D.

01/01/2010

Collect seed from a newly found population in James Canyon to ensure full genetic representation in the seed bank.