North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Aralia spinosa

Aralia spinosa L.

devil’s walkingstick, devil’s-walking-stick, hercules’s-club, prickly-ash

Image ID: 24685
Image by: Stuart, Will
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: ARSP2
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Aralia spinosa
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2017-09-02

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: ARALI
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Aralia
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Spikenard
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 30-70 species, herbs, shrubs, vines, and trees, primarily of e. North America, e. Asia, and se. Asia. Wen (1998) has suggested that A. nudicaulis may need to be removed from the genus Aralia in order to maintain both Aralia and Panax as monophyletic genera; more recent studies remain equivocal (Wen 2011).
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Wen (2011)=U; Smith (1982)=Z; Moore, Glenn, & Ma (2009)=V; Wen et al. (1998); Wen (1993); Wen (1998); Smith (1944)=Y; Frodin & Govaerts (2003)=X.

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: ARALIA
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Araliaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Ginseng Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 47 genera and 1325 species, trees, shrubs, vines, and rarely herbs, mainly tropical in distribution. Hydrocotyle is more closely related to Araliaceae than to Apiaceae, and is transferred here (Nicolas & Plunkett 2009; Chandler & Plunkett 2003).
FAMILY REFERENCE: Frodin & Govaerts (2003); Graham (1966); Smith (1944).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS: Whitish flowers.
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 12-15 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Shrub, Tree

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Bi-pinnate, Tri-pinnate
LEAF RETENTION: Deciduous

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: Jun-Sep

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
				x	x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR: White flowers

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
x

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Bogs/pocosins, Bottomlands, Disturbed
NATIVE RANGE: eastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: This showy, fast-growing shrub is often favored for its attractive flowers and somewhat tropical appearance. Its flowers are a source of nectar for bees and butterflies alike, and birds enjoy its seeds in the fall. It has a rich history of human usage as well. The aromatic roots and fruits were used to treat tooth-ache, and the flowers are valued for their lemony fragrance. Care should be taken when selecting a location for Devil’s Walking-stick due to its spines and its tendency to spread via rhizomes and suckers.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 4
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 9
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly, Bird Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
769	1985-0423			View
1229	1986-0999			View
3311	1990-0175			View
4442	1992-0598			View
7718	2001-0073	2001-05-16		View

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
482	SOS	2015-09-15	Heraty	View
483	SOS	2015-09-16	Heraty	View
493	SOS	2015-09-21	Heraty	View
511	SOS	2015-09-22	Driskill	View
519	SOS	2015-09-24	Maynard	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
1485	769	176	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
2130	1229	81	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
2131	1229	90	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5497	3311	8	NCBG staff	1983-06-23	View
5498	3311	52	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5499	3311	55	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5500	3311	56	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
6770	4442	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
10910	7718	81	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: ARSP2
USDA Common Name: Devil's Walkingstick
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Tree, Shrub

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FAC				FAC	FACU		FACW	FAC

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Aralia spinosa
COMMON NAME: Devil's-walking-stick, Hercules's-club, Prickly-ash
SYNONYMY: [= C, F, G, GW, Il, K, Pa, RAB, S, V, Va, W, WH3, X, Y, Z]
PHENOLOGY: Jun-Sep.
HABITAT: Disturbed pocosins and bottomlands, disturbed areas, moist to dry forests and woodlands.
COMMENTS: NJ west to s. IN, IL, and IA, south to c. peninsular FL and e. TX. Smith (1982) discusses the juvenile (prickly) and adult (unarmed) leaf phases of A. spinosa.
RANGE MAP: Aralia spinosa.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Araliaceae A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Ginseng Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 47 genera and 1325 species, trees, shrubs, vines, and rarely herbs, mainly tropical in distribution. Hydrocotyle is more closely related to Araliaceae than to Apiaceae, and is transferred here (Nicolas & Plunkett 2009; Chandler & Plunkett 2003).
REFERENCE: Frodin & Govaerts (2003); Graham (1966); Smith (1944).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Aralia L. (Spikenard)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 30-70 species, herbs, shrubs, vines, and trees, primarily of e. North America, e. Asia, and se. Asia. Wen (1998) has suggested that A. nudicaulis may need to be removed from the genus Aralia in order to maintain both Aralia and Panax as monophyletic genera; more recent studies remain equivocal (Wen 2011).
REFERENCE: Wen (2011)=U; Smith (1982)=Z; Moore, Glenn, & Ma (2009)=V; Wen et al. (1998); Wen (1993); Wen (1998); Smith (1944)=Y; Frodin & Govaerts (2003)=X.

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Aralia spinosa in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Aralia spinosa in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Aralia spinosa in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Aralia spinosa in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Aralia spinosa in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Aralia spinosa

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 24685 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 24685 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 10155 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 4604 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)