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Aralia spinosa
Also called Devil's walking-stick, Hercules' Club, American Angelica Tree, Prickly Ash, Angelicatree, Devils Walkingstick
Devil's walkingstick is a spiny, deciduous shrub or small tree from eastern North America, grown for its huge lacy leaves and late-summer flower clusters. It grows best in deep, moist soil and is slow growing but tough.
Aralia spinosa, commonly known as devil's walking stick, is a woody species of plant in the genus Aralia of the family Araliaceae. It is 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.
This species is sometimes called Hercules' club, prickly ash or prickly elder. These are 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. It does not have the medicinal properties of Zanthoxylum clava-herculis.
Aralia spinosa is widespread in the eastern United States. It ranges from New York to Florida along the Atlantic coast and westward to Ohio, Illinois, and Texas. It prefers a deep moist soil. The plants typically grow in the forest understory or at the edges of forests. They often form clonal thickets by sprouting from the roots.
The young leaves can be eaten if gathered before the prickles harden. They are then chopped finely and cooked as a pot herb.
California spikenard · Udo · Japanese angelica tree · American spikenard · Spikenard
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Aralia spinosa 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.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
