Aralias are curious, deciduous trees or shrubs that are armed with stout prickles. Branches have large pith and winter buds with few outer scales. Leaves are alternate or pinnate to thrice pinnately compound. Flowers are borne in large, terminal panicles. Fruit is a small, berrylike drupe.
| I. | Leaves are alternate and twice pinnately compound. Twigs are spiny. Spines are unbranched, short, and stout. Leaves are 16—30 inches (41—76 cm) or larger with prickles on the upper surface of the rachis. Flowers are white and bloom in August. Fruit is a black drupe that matures in September or October. |
| Aralia spinosa–Devil's Walkingstick |
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| Devil's Walkingstick (Hercules' Club) |
Devil's Walkingstick (Hercules' Club)–Aralia spinosa
The devil's walkingstick grows in the moist soil of deep woods and, though usually a shrub, sometimes becomes a tree 30—40 feet in height with a trunk diameter of from 6—8 inches (15—20 cm). It grows rapidly and is sometimes cultivated for ornamentation due to its curious habit.
The trunk branches and leaf stalks are very prickly and the twigs are thick and stout with a large pith. Trunks are sparsely branched. The bark is dark brown with yellow inner bark that is about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick. The bark is divided by shallow fissures into wide rounded ridges. The bark is sometimes used for medicinal purposes.
The leaves are twice compound, very large, and clustered at the ends of the branches. Leaves are 16—30 inches (41—76 cm) or larger and 2 feet wide. The leaflets are only 2—3 inches (5—7 cm) long and half as wide. Foliage is dark green above and pale beneath. The petiole is about 11/2 feet (46 cm) long, enlarged at the base, and clasped to the stem with prickles on all parts of the leaf rachis or stem and even on the mid-veins of the leaflets.
Flowers are white and bloom in August. They are very small and form a terminal panicle which is usually over 3 feet long. The 1/8 inch (3 mm) in diameter black fruit is fleshy, round, and slightly angled. Fruit is a drupe that matures in September or October.
The wood is light, close-grained, and brown in color, streaked with yellow, with a layer of lighter-colored sapwood of two to three rings. This species is related to ginseng, and the berries and the bark of the roots have medicinal uses. It has been reported from Ashtabula, Summit, Athens, Hocking, Jackson, Preble, Clermont, and Adams counties.