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Aralia spinosa
| Common name: |
Hercule's Club |
Family: |
Araliaceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
11, 43, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
Handling the roots can cause dermatitis in some people[222]. Large amounts of the berries are poisonous[222]. |
| Range: |
South-eastern N. America - New York to Florida, east to Texas. |
| Habitat: |
Buffs, rich woods and river banks in deep moist soils[43]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
2 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 2 |
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Angelica Tree [H], Angelica-tree [L], Devil's Walking Stick [DEN1,FEIS], Devil's Walkingstick [P], Devil's-walkingstick [B], False Prickly Ash [H], Hercule'S Club [E], Hercules Club [H], Hercules' Club [L], Prickly Ash [H], Prickly Elder [H], Toothache Tree [H], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
spinosa = spiny;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Apiales. Ginseng family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Us; Us(Amerindian); Us(Choctaw); Us(Koasati)
|
Physical Characteristics
A decidious tree growing to 9m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 5 and is frost tender. It is in flower from August to September, and the seeds ripen from October to November. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees.
We rate it 2/5 for edibility and
2/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in nutritionally poor soil.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) or semi-shade (light woodland).
It requires moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Woodland, Secondary, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.Edible Uses
Leaves.
Young leaves - cooked[105, 177]. The leaves usually have a number of
slender prickles, they must be gathered before the prickles harden[159] and
are then chopped finely and used as a potherb[183].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Alterative; Analgesic; Diaphoretic; Ophthalmic; Sialagogue; Stimulant.
Analgesic[46, 61].
The bark, especially of the roots[82] is the part most commonly used
medicinally, though other parts of the plant, including the fruit[82], also
possess medicinal properties[4]. The fresh bark is strongly emetic,
ophthalmic, purgative and sialagogue[4, 46, 61, 222, 257], when dried it is a
stimulating alterative and is diaphoretic[82].
A tincture of the berries is used in the treatment of toothache and
rheumatism[4, 222, 257].
A poultice of the roots is applied to boils, skin eruptions, varicose veins,
old sores and swellings[222, 257].
A cold infusion of the roots is used as drops for sore eyes[257].
Other Uses
Wood.
Wood - close-grained, weak, light, soft, brittle[82, 227]. Of little
economic value[229].
Cultivation details
Prefers a good deep loam and a semi-shady position[1]. Requires a
sheltered position[1].
A fast-growing but short-lived tree in its native zone[229], this species is
of little value in Britain[1]. It is generally a single-stemmed plant, often
spreading freely by means of suckers[182, 229].
Plants make finer foliage when growing in rich soils but are generally
healthier and longer-lived in a comparatively poor soil[11].
The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it
is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning
sun[K].
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires
3 - 5 months of cold stratification. Germination usually takes place within 1
- 4 months at 20°c[134]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out
into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse for at
least their first winter. Once the plants are 25cm or more tall, they can be
planted out into their permanent positions, late spring or early summer being
the best time to do this.
Root cuttings 8cm long, December in a cold frame[11, 78]. Store the roots
upside down in sand and pot up in March/April. High percentage[78].
Division of suckers in late winter[11]. Very easy, the suckers can be
planted out direct into their permanent positions if required.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
PFAF Web Pages
This plant is mentioned in the following web pages
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [V] Images
from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [S] Image
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [DEN] Data _ Photos
(Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
- [FEIS] Data
(Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
- [FEIS] Data
(Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
References for the family Araliaceae.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
[82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X
Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader.
[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
[134] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
[159] McPherson. A. and S. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press 1977 ISBN 0-253-28925-4
A nice pocket guide to this region of America.
[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.
[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[227] Vines. R.A. Trees of North Texas University of Texas Press. 1982 ISBN 0292780206
A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.
[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.
[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
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Plant information taken from the
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Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Aralia+spinosa
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