Actaea rubra: Baneberry

I think they are lovely, and they sprout berries first so they are never bare. Will have to find one I can dig and bring home one day.

I like the way the berries are in clusters like that! Agree about the 'astilbe' like leaves!

It is similar, my experience with astilbe is limited as it is an expensive annual around here. A lovely thing, thanks Karen.

Do you know what, (if anything), eats the berries? If the berries are firm and not mushy they might be nice to save for Christmas arrangements. It's not like a poison oak or ivy is it?

I don't think anything eats it. I've never seen a plant marred. They aren't juicy at all, dry and hard, good for drying. There isn't any irritant oils on it either, though there are some juices that you could get on you that you shouldn't accidentally ingest from your hands when cutting and collecting. It isn't recommended handling them bare for too long. I'm glad it doesn't look like anything else, really easy to identify.