Actaea are rhizomatous herbaceous perennials with compound leaves and small creamy-white flowers in short, erect, simple or branched terminal racemes, followed either by poisonous red, black or white berries, or by star-shaped clustered brown follicles
A. racemosa is a perennial to 1.5m, with long, branched, bottlebrush-like racemes of small, white flowers carried well above the bright green, divided leaves, and followed by dry brown follicles