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Aralia cordata
Also called Japanese Spikenard, Japanese Asparagus, Spikenard
Udo is a herbaceous perennial that grows 1.2 to 3 metres tall, grown mainly for its blanched spring shoots eaten as a vegetable in East Asia. It thrives in rich, moist soil in partial shade, and the shoots are the key crop to manage.
Aralia cordata is an upright herbaceous perennial plant growing up to 2 to 3 metres (6.6 to 9.8 ft) in height, native to Japan, Korea, Russian Far East, and eastern China. Its common names include spikenard, herbal aralia, udo (from Japanese: ウド), Japanese spikenard, and mountain asparagus. It is commonly found on the slopes of wooded embankments. Aralia cordata is a species of Aralia in the family Araliaceae.
The plant yields new shoots every spring, which are blanched and then eaten as a vegetable. In Korea, the dried root of the plant has been traditionally used as medicine. The young shoots have a strong yet pleasant distinct aromatic flavor. In addition to food and medicinal use, the plant is cultivated as an ornamental.
Per 100 grams of raw stem, Aralia cordata contains 220 mg of potassium, 7 mg of calcium, 9 mg of magnesium, 25 mg of phosphorus, 0.2 mg of iron, 0.1 mg of zinc and 4 mg of vitamin C.
California spikenard · Japanese angelica tree · American spikenard · Devil's walkingstick · Spikenard
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Aralia cordata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
