Aralia spinosa
Devil's-walking-stick, Hercules-club
Pennslyvania west to Iowa, south to Texas and Florida.
Large, coarse-textured shrub to 20'. Normally suckers freely. Better than a barbed-wire fence.
Prefers well-drained, moist soils but grows well on rocky, dry or clay soils and is pH adaptable. Good for urban use.
Novelty plant that will stand out due to the soft tropical effect in summer and the coarse texture in winter. Best used in mass plantings. Large terminal panicles of white flowers grace this plant in the mid to late summer.
Medium-dark green. Alternate, bi- or tripinnately compound, 3 to 5 feet, leaflets are 2 to 4 inches, acuminate, serrate.
Buds are ovoid to conical with few scales.
Stems thick, straw colored with numerous prickles. Leaf scars prominent resembling a Cheshire cat's grin.
Large clusters, 1 to 1.5 feet across, of creamy white flowers appear in mid to late summer and last until late summer or fall.
Purple-black drupe, .25 inches long.
Seeds, root cutting.