SCIENTIFIC NAME: Aralia spinosa

COMMON NAME: devil's walking stick

LEAVES: Bi and tri pinnately compound. Up to 3' long.

FLOWERS: Very large and showy clusters of white flowers in June/July.

FRUIT: Large clusters of blue fruit in late summer and fall. Birds like the fruit.

BARK: Spines on branches and trunk. Very distinctive.

OTHER: Grows up to 30' tall with a white flower in July & August. Native to low/moist sites, but will tolerate dry sites. Leave on a site if found. A member of the Araliaceae family. Several years ago a famous designer out of New York was doing a masterplan for a hospital here in the South and specified this species to line the walkway up to the emergency room. The picture books he had looked at did not show the nasty thorns on its branches and trunks. Needless to say when he found out about that characteristic he changed the plans.