Oct 4, 2025
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Fall color is starting to arrive on the mountain! Subalpine areas like Paradise get a lot of attention but Mount Rainier’s lower elevation forests can also feature some fall color. An underappreciated plant is devil’s club (Oplopanax horridus), which has large maple-shaped leaves that turn bright yellow or even orangish-red in autumn. Common in wet areas, devil’s club can bring surprising color to the forest’s dark understory. Covered in spines, this plant is best observed from a safe distance.
Where are you finding fall color in the park?
NPS Photos of devil’s club starting to turn yellow-red along the Carbon River Trail, 8/30/23. ~kl
Oplopanax horridus or devil's club, one of my favorite scientific names to say
I cannot tell you the number of times I've been out on trail rides and my horses think that devil's club is an excellent tool to embed into my leg because they would prefer to be dramatic about a sunbeam ahead on the trail (it might eat them) and go crashing off into the brush instead.
Oh no. I’d never considered hitting devil’s club with horsepower driving the impact. Ow ow ow. My deepest sympathies
Oplopanax horridus
From the archives Via Flickr: Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridus)
Big Four Ice Caves, Mt Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington State.
Shot on Kodak Ektar 100, Pentax K1000
Devil's Club, Oplopanax horridus (by me)