Aralia nudicaulis (Wild Sarsaparilla)

Aralia nudicaulis

Aralia nudicaulis L.

Wild Sarsaparilla

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Apiales	Includes carrots, celery, parsley, and ivy
Family	Araliaceae	Ivy family
Genus	Aralia	Latinized version of French Canadian or American Indian name aralie
Species	nudicaulis	From Latin nudus, “bare, naked,” and Greek kaulos, “stem”: bare-stemmed

About plant names...

Wild sarsaparilla’s scientific name, Aralia nudicaulis, means simply “bare stem.” It is a native of northern North America.

Okay, so you’re a plant, and you’ve decided that you’re going to eke out an existence on the bottom of forest floors. All those trees overhead have leaves everywhere, so there’s something to catch light regardless of the angle of the sun, and with every passing breeze. There isn’t much left for you, a few dappled rays. You need a more frugal strategy. So you make only a few leaves, and spread them out in a single plane, facing straight up, with almost no overlap. Now every leaf collects as much sunlight as possible. And you even put your flowers under the leaves so they don’t get in the way. That’s sarsaparilla.

Identification: Plants are 12-24" (30-60 cm) high. The leaves are all lined up in a flat plane, on bare hairless stems. Tiny white or pale green flowers form spherical clusters about 1½" (3.8 cm) around, underneath the leaves. They resemble wild leek flowers, but lack the leeks’ odor of onions. The flower clusters become similarly shaped berry clusters, with dark blue berries.

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:

Wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis)	Short plants often found in North American forests, with bare stems topped with leaves in a flat plane, and flowers nestled underneath the leaves.
Bristly sarsaparilla (Aralia hispida)	A close relative, but larger and with stems that are covered with bristly hairs; stems of A. nudicaulis are smooth.
Sarsaparilla (Smilax officinalis and other species)	A vine native to Jamaica, reaching up to 50' (15 m) in length, with long underground roots that have been used in some soft drinks and for various ailments.
Poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans)	An unrelated but highly toxic plant that is vaguely similar in appearance to wild sarsaparilla and has leaves in groups of three.
Australian sarsaparilla tree (Alphitonia petriei)	A fast-growing evergreen tree with bark and leaves that smell like liniment when rubbed.

Edibility: “Sarsaparilla” is Spanish for “little grape vine”—a name well-suited to real sarsaparilla, but not to wild sarsaparilla. I couldn’t verify this, but it looks as if roots of wild sarsaparilla were sometimes used as a flavoring agent in place of the real variety, leading to the name confusion. I couldn’t find good information on wild sarsaparilla’s toxicity.

Online References:

Aralia nudicaulis from all-creatures.org

Aralia nudicaulis on

Aralia nudicaulis on the Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

Aralia nudicaulis at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Aralia nudicaulis on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Aralia nudicaulis on BorealForest.org

Aralia nudicaulis on CalPhotos

Aralia nudicaulis at the University of Wisconsin's Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium

Aralia nudicaulis on the USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 388

5/2/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, NH
≈ 6 × 5" (14 × 13 cm)

6/7/2017 · Burns Loop Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Burns/Holland Farm, Milford, NH
≈ 10 × 6" (24 × 16 cm)

9/19/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, ME
≈ 24 × 16" (62 × 41 cm) ID is uncertain

5/9/2010 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, MA
≈ 3½ × 3½" (8.6 × 9.3 cm)

The berries are sarsaparilla. Foliage is bunchberry. · 7/15/2012 · Fort Point State Park, Stockton Springs, ME
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 14 cm)

5/18/2016 · Worcester Road, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, NH
≈ 14 × 21" (34 × 52 cm)

Aralia nudicaulis description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

9/18/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, ME
≈ 32 × 21" (82 × 53 cm)

5/21/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, NH
≈ 8 × 8" (21 × 19 cm)

5/18/2013 · Oak Hill, Littleton Conservation Land, Littleton, MA
≈ 5 × 4" (13 × 10 cm)

Berries will become black when ripe. (The leaves are false Solomon’s seal.) · 6/4/2013 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, MA
≈ 7 × 5" (17 × 13 cm)

5/17/2010 · Wildlife Pond Loop Trail, Beaver Brook Association Conservation Lands, Hollis, NH
≈ 14 × 21" (34 × 52 cm)

5/9/2010 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, MA
≈ 4 × 4½" (10 × 11 cm)

5/2/2010 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, MA
≈ 15 × 10" (39 × 26 cm)

The berries are sarsaparilla. Foliage is bunchberry. · 7/15/2012 · Fort Point State Park, Stockton Springs, ME
≈ 15 × 10" (39 × 26 cm)

7/15/2012 · Fort Point State Park, Stockton Springs, ME
≈ 12 × 13" (29 × 34 cm)

5/18/2016 · Worcester Road, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, NH

7/15/2012 · Fort Point State Park, Stockton Springs, ME
≈ 12 × 12" (29 × 30 cm)

Range:

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