Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Apiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Aralia spinosa
FAMILY
Araliaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Devil's Walkingstick at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Aralia spinosa
FAMILY
Araliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Aralia spinosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 139-03-001:
Aralia spinosa FAMILY Araliaceae
COMMON NAME:
Devil's Walkingstick, Hercules-club, Prickly Aralia, Prickly-ash
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_811
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_arsp2_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_arsp2_007_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm160504_477
May Jackson County NC
Pulley Park
)
JK Marlow jkm190506_8176
May Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
Gill Newberry gn06_aralia_spinosa
June
)
JK Marlow jkm160617_068
June McCormick County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm160617_070
June McCormick County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm160617_073
June McCormick County SC
Leaves glabrous or glabrate [here note the widely spaced trichomes], per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm190614_9189
June Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm0407k_03
July Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm0407z_19
July Oconee County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0407z_22
July Oconee County SC
Roadside
Leaves bipinnately compound, 2 to 4' long; leaflets toothed, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm0407z_26
July Oconee County SC
Roadside
Many-flowered terminal panicles, 3-4' long, appear in late summer, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm160715_298
July McCormick County SC
)
Sam Pratt sbp_3309
July Spartanburg County SC
In cultivation
)
JK Marlow jkm0308t_01
August Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
The trunk has strong prickles, unless quite large, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
JK Marlow jkm120815_905
August Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Usually 5 stamens; 5 stigmas; 5 styles fused basally, then separate & recurved, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm120815_908
August Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm170923_p1350947
September Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
)
JK Marlow jkm200911_7185
September Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm0310g_34
October Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm0310g_37
October Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm0411a_31
November Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm0511b_36
November Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Fruit is a black drupe with reddish juice, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm081103_043
November Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Leaf scar nearly encircles twig, often w a row of prickles surrounding it, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm081103_044
November Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Aralia spinosa
FAMILY
Araliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Aralia spinosa
FAMILY
Araliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Aralia spinosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 139-03-001:
Aralia spinosa
FAMILY
Araliaceae
117
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
More or less polygamous
Habitat: Disturbed pocosins and bottomlands, disturbed areas, moist to dry forests and woodlands, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Stems armed thoughout with stout broadbased prickles; leaves usually armed also
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Complexly compound, with 2+ levels of pinnate and/or ternate compoundness
Alternate
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
White
5 sepals
5 petals
5 stamens, usually
Inferior ovary
Bisexual or staminate
Inflorescence a terminal panicle
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Red
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p306
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p062
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p277
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p122
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p203
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p254
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p037
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p099
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p082
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p322
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p083
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p150
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p041
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p13
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p270
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p063
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