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Aralia spinosa

Devil's-walking-stick, Hercules-club

Pronunciation
a-RA-li-a spi-NO-sa
Pronunciation Audio
Family
Genus
Nativity

Pennslyvania west to Iowa, south to Texas and Florida.

Growth Habit

Large, coarse-textured shrub to 20'. Normally suckers freely. Better than a barbed-wire fence.

Hardiness
5
Culture

Prefers well-drained, moist soils but grows well on rocky, dry or clay soils and is pH adaptable. Good for urban use.

Facultative Status
Facultative
Landscape 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.

Foliage

Medium-dark green. Alternate, bi- or tripinnately compound, 3 to 5 feet, leaflets are 2 to 4 inches, acuminate, serrate.

Buds

Buds are ovoid to conical with few scales.

Bark

Stems thick, straw colored with numerous prickles. Leaf scars prominent resembling a Cheshire cat's grin.

Flower

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.

Fruit

Purple-black drupe, .25 inches long.

Propagation

Seeds, root cutting.

Pests
None serious.

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