Found growing in Appalachia’s forest margins and fields in full sun to part shade, devil’s walking stick (Aralia spinosa) is a pioneer of disturbed areas and will adapt to a wide variety of soils and moisture conditions. A perennial shrub or small tree in the same family as ginseng, devil’s walking stick produces an umbrella-like canopy of long, compound leaves - reminiscent of drooping palm fronds - and is occasionally grown as an ornamental shrub in native plant gardens. In mid to late summer, an enormous plume of white flowers rises several feet above the leaf canopy and is replaced in the fall by a gorgeous spray of black drupes arranged in dense clusters on pink, fruiting stalks. The fruit attracts a variety of birds. As a bonus, the plant’s leaves turn a striking shade of maroon, often tinged with yellow, from September through October. Also known as prickly ash, Hercules’ club, and angelica tree, devil’s walking stick was highly coveted by Native American tribes and early white settlers, who boiled and ate its young shoots and made various decoctions from its aromatic roots and berries to alleviate the pain from toothache and sore throat. The plant’s common name relates to the orange prickles on its stem.
