Aralia hispida Aralia hispida Vent.
Bristly Sarsaparilla
Bristly sarsaparilla is native to eastern North America. The species name, hispida, means “rough,” referring to the bristles on the lower stems. Identification: This unpleasant-smelling perennial is 6-30" (15-76 cm) in height, upright, except when it is bowed under the weight of its copious berries. The lower stems have bristles. Leaves are twice pinnately divided. (Pinnate means “with many opposing pairs of leaves,” like the veins of a feather. Bipinnate means “pairs of smaller pairs.” Twice pinnately divided means “a pair of pinnate branches.” You can see this clearly in Photo 11.) Leaves are clustered on the lower portions of the plants. They are serrated (sharp toothed), oblong to elliptic, up to 3" (8.3 cm) long. The flowers form umbels, clusters that are almost perfectly round. Each individual flower is on a tiny ½" (1.3 cm) stem that emerges from a central point, forming delicate spheres of cream-colored or greenish flowers perched atop long stems. Each flower is about ¼" (6.3 mm) in size, with five petals. They appear in June through September. The flowers become distinctive blue-black berry clusters. Bristly sarsaparilla grows in rocky or sandy soils that are low in nutrients. Wild sarsaparilla is sometimes confused with “real” sarsaparilla, even though the plants bear no resemblance to each other and do not overlap in range. Here are some other possible sources of confusion:
Edibility: Not edible. The berries will make you sick. Online References:
Aralia hispida at the University of Wisconsin's Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium Aralia hispida at Minnesota Wildflowers Aralia hispida on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants Aralia hispida on nswildflora.ca Aralia hispida at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Aralia hispida on CalPhotos Aralia hispida on the New England Wildflower Society’s GoBotany site References:
Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 316 1 · 8/16/2014 · White Mountains, NH 2 · 8/10/2013 · Stone Arch Bridge Trail, Near Flat Rock Hill, Dunstable, MA 3 · 8/10/2013 · Stone Arch Bridge Trail, Near Flat Rock Hill, Dunstable, MA 4 · 9/8/2017 · Bates Land and Blackman Land, Groton Conservation Trust, Groton, MA Aralia hispida description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 12 Oct 2018. © FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved. |
5 · 8/10/2013 · Stone Arch Bridge Trail, Near Flat Rock Hill, Dunstable, MA 6 · 9/8/2017 · Bates Land and Blackman Land, Groton Conservation Trust, Groton, MA 7 · 8/16/2014 · White Mountains, NH 8 · 8/10/2013 · Stone Arch Bridge Trail, Near Flat Rock Hill, Dunstable, MA 9 · 8/10/2013 · Stone Arch Bridge Trail, Near Flat Rock Hill, Dunstable, MA 10 · 8/10/2013 · Stone Arch Bridge Trail, Near Flat Rock Hill, Dunstable, MA 11 · 8/10/2013 · Stone Arch Bridge Trail, Near Flat Rock Hill, Dunstable, MA 12 · 8/16/2014 · White Mountains, NH 13 · 8/10/2013 · Stone Arch Bridge Trail, Near Flat Rock Hill, Dunstable, MA 14 · 8/10/2013 · Stone Arch Bridge Trail, Near Flat Rock Hill, Dunstable, MA Range:
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