Aralia spinosa

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Aralia spinosa
Aralia spinosa Arkansas.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Araliaceae
Genus: Aralia
Species:
A. spinosa
Binomial name
Aralia spinosa
L.
Aralia spinosa range map 1.png
Natural range of Aralia spinosa

Aralia spinosa, commonly known as devil's walking stick, is a woody species of plant in the genus Aralia , family Araliaceae, native to eastern North America. The various names refer to the viciously sharp, spiny stems, petioles, and even leaf midribs. It has also been known as Angelica-tree. [2]

Contents

This species is sometimes called Hercules' club, prickly ash, or prickly elder, common names it shares with the unrelated Zanthoxylum clava-herculis . For this reason, Aralia spinosa is sometimes confused with that species and mistakenly called the toothache tree, [3] but it does not have the medicinal properties of Zanthoxylum clava-herculis.

Aralia spinosa is occasionally cultivated for its exotic, tropical appearance, having large lacy compound leaves. It is closely related to the Asian species Aralia elata , a more commonly cultivated species with which it is easily confused.

Description

Aralia spinosa is an aromatic spiny deciduous shrub or small tree growing 2–8 m (7–26 ft) tall, with a simple or occasionally branched stem with very large bipinnate leaves 70–120 cm (30–45 in) long. The trunks are up to 15–20 cm (6–8 in) in diameter, with the plants umbrella-like in habit with open crowns. The young stems are stout and thickly covered with sharp spines. The plants generally grow in clusters of branchless trunks, although stout wide-spreading branches are occasionally produced. [2]

The flowers are creamy-white, individually small (about 5 mm or 316 in across) but produced in large composite panicles 30–60 cm (12–24 in) long; flowering is in the late summer. The fruit is a purplish-black berry 6–8 mm (14516 in) in diameter, ripening in the fall. The roots are thick and fleshy.

The doubly or triply compound leaves are the largest of any temperate tree in the continental United States, often about a meter (three feet) long and 60 cm (two feet) wide, with leaflets about 5–8 cm (2–3 in) long. The petioles are prickly, with swollen bases. In the autumn the leaves turn to a peculiar bronze red touched with yellow which makes the tree conspicuous and attractive. [2]

The habit of growth and general appearance of Aralia spinosa and related tree-forming Aralia species are unique. It is usually found as a group of unbranched stems, rising to the height of 3.5–6 m (11–20 ft), which bear upon their summits a crowded cluster of doubly or triply compound leaves, thus giving to each stem a certain tropical palm-like appearance. In the south it is said to reach the height of 15 m (50 ft), still retaining its palm-like aspect. However, further north, the slender, swaying, palm-like appearance is most characteristic of younger plants that have not been damaged by winter storms. [2]

The trunk, showing the bark, leaf scars, and spines. Aralia spinosa.jpg
The trunk, showing the bark, leaf scars, and spines.

Distribution and habitat

Aralia spinosa is widespread in the eastern United States, ranging from New York to Florida along the Atlantic coast, and westward to Ohio, Illinois, and Texas. It prefers a deep moist soil. [2] The plants typically grow in the forest understory or at the edges of forests, often forming clonal thickets by sprouting from the roots.

This tree was admired by the Iroquois because of its usefulness, and for its rarity. The Iroquois would take the saplings of the tree and plant them near their villages and on islands, so that animals wouldn't eat the valuable fruit. The fruit was used in many of the natives' foods. The women would take the flowers and put them in their hair because of the lemony smell. The flowers could also be traded for money.

In the past, botanists attributed occurrences of Aralia north of Maryland and Delaware in the Mid-Atlantic states to introductions of Aralia spinosa from areas to the south. However some of these occurrences are now known to be of Aralia elata (Japanese Angelica-tree), a related Asian species that is invasive in the area. A. spinosa and A. elata are difficult to distinguish in the field, leading to confusion. In at least one locality, in Philadelphia, A. elata is displacing A. spinosa, with as yet unknown impacts on the local ecology. [4]

Aralia elata in the vicinity of Philadelphia, PA. Aralia-elata-Philadelphia.jpg
Aralia elata in the vicinity of Philadelphia, PA.

Uses

The young leaves can be eaten if gathered before the prickles harden. They are then chopped finely and cooked as a potherb.

Aralia spinosa was introduced into cultivation in 1688 and is still grown for its decorative foliage, prickly stems, large showy flower panicles [clusters], and distinctive fall color. These plants are slow growing, tough and durable, do well in urban settings, but bear numerous prickles on their stems, petioles, and leaflets. These plants can be propagated from seeds or root cuttings. [5]

Early American settlers used the plant for its alleged properties of curing toothaches. [6]

In a laboratory study, extracts from the plant, used as a medicine during the American Civil War, showed antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant bacteria associated with wound infections. [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Aralia elata</i> Species of plant

Aralia elata, the Japanese angelica tree, Chinese angelica-tree, or Korean angelica-tree, is a woody plant belonging to the family Araliaceae. It is known as tara-no-ki in Japanese, and dureup-namu (두릅나무) in Korean.

<i>Aralia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Aralia, or spikenard, is a genus of the family Araliaceae, consisting of 68 accepted species of deciduous or evergreen trees, shrubs, and rhizomatous herbaceous perennials. The genus is native to Asia and the Americas, with most species occurring in mountain woodlands. Aralia plants vary in size, with some herbaceous species only reaching 50 centimetres (20 in) tall, while some are trees growing to 20 metres (66 ft) tall.

<i>Phoenix</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants of the palm family

Phoenix is a genus of 14 species of palms, native to an area starting from the Canary Islands in the west, across northern and central Africa, to the extreme southeast of Europe (Crete), and continuing throughout southern Asia, from Anatolia east to southern China and Malaysia. The diverse habitats they occupy include swamps, deserts, and mangrove sea coasts. Most Phoenix species originate in semi-arid regions, but usually occur near high groundwater levels, rivers, or springs. The genus is unusual among members of subfamily Coryphoideae in having pinnate, rather than palmate leaves; tribe Caryoteae also have pinnate or bipinnate leaves.

<i>Oxydendrum</i> Genus of trees

Oxydendrum arboreum, the sourwood or sorrel tree, is the sole species in the genus Oxydendrum, in the family Ericaceae. It is native to eastern North America, from southern Pennsylvania south to northwest Florida and west to southern Illinois; it is most common in the lower chain of the Appalachian Mountains. The tree is frequently seen as a component of oak-heath forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossary of leaf morphology</span>

The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple or compound. The edge of the leaf may be regular or irregular, may be smooth or bearing hair, bristles or spines. For more terms describing other aspects of leaves besides their overall morphology see the leaf article.

<i>Zanthoxylum clava-herculis</i> Species of tree

Zanthoxylum clava-herculis, the Hercules' club, Hercules-club, pepperwood, or southern prickly ash, is a spiny tree or shrub native to the southeastern United States. It grows to 10–17 m tall and has distinctive spined thick, corky lumps 2–3 cm long on the bark. The leaves are glabrous and leathery, pinnately compound, 20–30 cm long with 7-19 leaflets, each leaflet 4–5 cm long. The flowers are dioecious, in panicles up to 20 cm long, each flower small, 6–8 mm diameter, with 3-5 white petals. The fruit is a two-valved capsule 6 mm diameter with a rough surface, and containing several small black seeds. The tree has also been called Z. macrophyllum. The genus name is sometimes spelled Xanthoxylum.

<i>Zanthoxylum simulans</i> Species of flowering plant

Zanthoxylum simulans, the Chinese-pepper, Chinese prickly-ash or flatspine prickly-ash, is a flowering plant in the family Rutaceae, native to eastern China and Taiwan. It is one of several species of Zanthoxylum from which Sichuan pepper is produced.

<i>Aralia californica</i> Species of flowering plant

Aralia californica, known by the common name elk clover though not actually a clover, is a large herb in the family Araliaceae, the only member of the ginseng family native to California and southwestern Oregon. It is also called California aralia and California spikenard.

<i>Quercus imbricaria</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus imbricaria, the shingle oak, is a deciduous tree in the red oak group of oaks. It is native primarily to the Midwestern and Upper South regions of North America.

<i>Cladrastis kentukea</i> Species of legume

Cladrastis kentukea, the Kentucky yellowwood or American yellowwood, is a species of Cladrastis native to the Southeastern United States, with a restricted range from western North Carolina west to eastern Oklahoma, and from southern Missouri and Indiana south to central Alabama. The tree is sometimes also called Virgilia.

<i>Aralia nudicaulis</i> Species of flowering plant

Aralia nudicaulis is a flowering plant of northern and eastern North America which reaches a height of 30–60 cm (12–24 in) with creeping underground stems.

<i>Rodgersia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Saxifragaceae

Rodgersia is a genus of flowering plants in the Saxifragaceae family. Rodgersia are herbaceous perennials originating from east Asia.

<i>Erythrina lysistemon</i> Species of legume

Erythrina lysistemon is a species of deciduous tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to South Africa. Common names include common coral-tree, lucky bean tree, umsintsi (Xhosa), muvhale (Venda), mophete (Tswana), koraalboom of kanniedood (Afrikaans), mokhungwane (Sotho) and umsinsi (Zulu). It is regularly cultivated as a tree for gardens and parks.

Regional floras typically contain complete dichotomous keys for identification of trees and other plants to species. The following guide originates from Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them by Harriet L. Keeler and applies to some flowering trees which are indigenous to the region extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to the northern boundaries of the southern states, together with a few well-known and naturalized foreign trees. This guide excludes conifers and is not an exhaustive list of all trees known to occur in the region.

<i>Sorbus americana</i> Species of tree

The tree species Sorbus americana is commonly known as the American mountain-ash. It is a deciduous perennial tree, native to eastern North America.

This page provides a glossary of plant morphology. Botanists and other biologists who study plant morphology use a number of different terms to classify and identify plant organs and parts that can be observed using no more than a handheld magnifying lens. This page provides help in understanding the numerous other pages describing plants by their various taxa. The accompanying page—Plant morphology—provides an overview of the science of the external form of plants. There is also an alphabetical list: Glossary of botanical terms. In contrast, this page deals with botanical terms in a systematic manner, with some illustrations, and organized by plant anatomy and function in plant physiology.

<i>Sorbus decora</i> Species of shrub

Sorbus decora, commonly known as the northern mountain ash, showy mountain-ash, Greenland mountain-ash, and dogberry, is a species of deciduous shrub or very small tree native to northeastern North America.

<i>Oreomunnea mexicana</i> Species of flowering plant

Oreomunnea mexicana is a species of plant in the family Juglandaceae, which grows in the tropical rain forests of Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama at altitudes from 1–1.7 km. Common names include guayabo amarillo and remiendo. The chromosome number is 2n = 32.

<i>Zanthoxylum nitidum</i> Species of flowering plant

Zanthoxylum nitidum, commonly known as shiny-leaf prickly-ash, tez-mui or liang mian zhen, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae. It is a woody climber with prickles on the branchlets, thick, cone-shaped spines on the trunk and older branches, pinnate leaves with five to nine leaflets, and panicles or racemes of white to pale yellow, male or female flowers in leaf axils and on the ends of branchlets.

<i>Solanum pachyandrum</i> Species of flowering plant

Solanum pachyandrum, known as bombona, is a spine-forming vine of the Solanum genus. It is native to southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru where the large juicy fruit is commonly eaten and considered a treat by children. Although the plant has been known and consumed by the indigenous people of that land, it was only published scientifically in 1914 by German botanist Friedrich August Georg Bitter.

References

  1. IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group.; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; et al. (BGCI) (2020). "Aralia spinosa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T152911024A152911026. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T152911024A152911026.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Keeler, Harriet L. (1900). Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp.  165–168.
  3. Kristina Connor. "Aralia spinosa" (PDF). Wildland Shrubs of the United States and its Territories: Thamnic Descriptions, General Technical Report IITF-WB-1, Edited by John K. Francis. International Institute of Tropical Forestry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-04-17. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  4. "Mistaken Identity? Invasive Plants and Their Native Look-Alikes, and Identification Guide for the Mid-Atlantic" (PDF). Delaware State University. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  5. Poor, Janet Meakin, and Nancy P. Brewster. 1994. Plants that merit attention Vol 2, Shrubs. Portland, OR: Timber Press. ISBN   0-88192-347-8 Page 34.
  6. Little, Elbert L. (1980). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region. New York: Knopf. p. 612. ISBN   0-394-50760-6.
  7. "Civil War Plant Medicines Inhibit Multidrug-Resistant Wound Bacteria". 2019-05-28.