September 2023 E-Newsletter

Are you looking for a special way to provide a tribute in the memory of a loved one? Or a way to honor an anniversary, birthday, retirement or any special occasion? The Ottawa County Parks Foundation can help.

The Ottawa County Parks Foundation has benches available for sponsorship along the Idema Explorers trail, which when complete will connect Lake Michigan to Grand Rapids. There are eight bench locations available at the Jenison Mill Segment, including a bench in front of the Secchia Grand Connection arch.

There are three benches available along the Grand Ravines to Grand River Park Segment of the Idema Explorers Trail. Those are locations 6, 7, and 8, and are located in Grand River Park.

Interested in a bench along the Idema Explorers Trial complete this form. Benches along the Idema Explorers Trail are $3,500.

This is a great opportunity to provide a tribute along two beautiful trail segments that opened late last year and immediately became popular trails.

by Bobbi Sabine

White baneberry is also known as doll’s-eyes, and you’ll understand why immediately when you see this plant. Actaea pachypoda has been found throughout Michigan, from Grosse Isle all the way to Isle Royale. It’s found in rich deciduous forests and northern hardwoods, and sometimes under pine, cedar, or other conifers.

This perennial wildflower blooms with an innocuous delicate-looking white flower which transforms into a bizarre fruiting body – a striking elongated raceme of porcelain-white berries with a black dot on the end of each, like dolls’ eyeballs, borne on thick red stalks. It may reach a height of 1 to 3 feet.

The generic name (Actaea) is from the Greek word aktea (“elder”), because the leaves somewhat resemble those of elder trees. The specific epithet, pachypoda, is Greek for “thick-footed” because of its thick rhizomes. Pachys is “thick” and podos is “foot.” The common name of baneberry is from the Old English words bana or bona, which both mean “slayer” or “murderer,” as all parts of this plant are rather toxic.

The roots and the berries are the most toxic, containing the glycoside protoanemonin, a cardiogenic toxin. Consumption of as little as six berries make persons very ill. However, these berries are very bitter to the taste, so you are unlikely to keep eating them after you’ve had your first, unless you’re a slow learner. Symptoms include gastrointestinal inflammation, burning of the mouth and throat, salivation, dizziness, convulsions, deliriums, hallucinations, headaches, rapid pulse, circulatory failure, and cardiac arrest.

White baneberry is also externally toxic. External contact with this plant may cause contact dermatitis in some sensitive persons.

Despite its toxicity, it had some traditional medicinal uses. Native Americans and early European settlers used small amounts of this plant as medicine. The roots and leaves were brewed into a tea for treating various ailments. The roots were used as both an emetic and a purgative. This plant treated constipation, bronchial trouble, common colds, coughs, childbirth pain, eyestrain, headaches, sore throats, and rheumatism. If mixed with alum, the berries yield a black dye.

Photo credit: Ann Arbor Natural Area Preservation