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Aralia nudicaulis
Also called American Sarsaparilla, Rabbitroot, Shotbush, Small Spikenard, Virginia Sarsaparilla, Wild Licorice
Wild sarsaparilla is a native North American woodland perennial that spreads by creeping underground stems, grown for its large, finely toothed leaves and purple-black berries. It does best in cool, moist, partly shaded woodland conditions.
Aralia nudicaulis (commonly wild sarsaparilla, false sarsaparilla, shot bush, small spikenard, wild liquorice, and rabbit root) is a species of flowering plant in the ivy family Araliaceae. It is native to northern and eastern North America.
This plant is so common in certain ecologies that it is an indicator species for these Eastern forests of North America: northern hardwood forest, beech–maple forest, and oak–hickory forest. It is also common in the interior cedar–hemlock forest ecosystem in central and southern British Columbia.
The berry can be eaten but is unexceptional. The roots have been used as substitutes for true sarsaparilla (Smilax sp.) in herbal medicine.
California spikenard · Aralia castanopsicola · Chinese angelica tree · Udo · Aralia dasyphylla · Aralia dasyphylloides · Decaisne's Spikenard · Japanese angelica tree · Aralia elegans · Aralia excelsa · Aralia frodiniana · Bristly sarsaparilla
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Aralia nudicaulis 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.
