OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Apiales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Aralia racemosa   FAMILY Araliaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Aralia racemosa ssp. racemosa   FAMILY Araliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 139-03-003:

Aralia racemosa   FAMILY Araliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Aralia racemosa

 

COMMON NAME:
Spikenard, Hungry-root


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Aralia racemosa, Spikenard, Hungry-root

JK Marlow    jkm090503_074

May    Polk County    NC

image of Aralia racemosa, Spikenard, Hungry-root

JK Marlow    jkm090503_077

May    Polk County    NC

image of Aralia racemosa, Spikenard, Hungry-root

JK Marlow    jkm090503_080

May    Polk County    NC

image of Aralia racemosa, Spikenard, Hungry-root

JK Marlow    jkm140519_970

May    Jackson County    NC

Big Ridge Preserve

image of Aralia racemosa, Spikenard, Hungry-root

JK Marlow    jkm0307i_15

July    Oconee County    SC

Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District

image of Aralia racemosa, Spikenard, Hungry-root

JK Marlow    jkm0407h_07

July    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

image of Aralia racemosa, Spikenard, Hungry-root

JK Marlow    jkm0407h_09

July    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

Leaflets large and heart-shaped at the base, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).

image of Aralia racemosa, Spikenard, Hungry-root

JK Marlow    jkm100730_234

July    Jackson County    NC

Balsam Mountain Preserve

Greenish-white flowers in a long branching cluster of umbels, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).

image of Aralia racemosa, Spikenard, Hungry-root

JK Marlow    jkm100730_234b

July    Jackson County    NC

Balsam Mountain Preserve

Sepals ca. 0.3mm long; petals white ca. 1mm long, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Aralia racemosa, Spikenard, Hungry-root

JK Marlow    jkm0308s_02

August    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

image of Aralia racemosa, Spikenard, Hungry-root

JK Marlow    jkm0508f_28

August    Greenville County    SC

Ashmore Heritage Preserve

Leaves pinnately compound or ternately and pinnately decompound, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Aralia racemosa, Spikenard, Hungry-root

JK Marlow    jkm130824_697

August    Greenville County    SC

Ashmore Heritage Preserve

image of Aralia racemosa, Spikenard, Hungry-root

JK Marlow    jkm090901_004

September    Greenville County    SC

Jones Gap State Park

image of Aralia racemosa, Spikenard, Hungry-root

JK Marlow    jkm190913_1419

September    Sevier County    TN

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Fruits are dark purple drupes, about 0.2" across, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).

image of Aralia racemosa, Spikenard, Hungry-root

JK Marlow    jkm230927_5647

September    Pickens County    SC

Laurel Fork Heritage Preserve

image of Aralia racemosa, Spikenard, Hungry-root

JK Marlow    jkm230927_5649

September    Pickens County    SC

Laurel Fork Heritage Preserve

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Aralia racemosa   FAMILY Araliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Aralia racemosa ssp. racemosa   FAMILY Araliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 139-03-003:
Aralia racemosa   FAMILY Araliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Aralia racemosa

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

116

Forb
Perennial
Polygamous

Habitat: Rich woodlands, trail margins and roadsides, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Uncommon

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Stems and leaves unarmed

LEAVES:
Pinnately compound, or complexly compound with pinnate and ternate compoundness
Alternate

FLOWER:
Summer
White
Radially symmetrical
5 sepals
5 petals
Inferior ovary
Bisexual & unisexual

Inflorescences large axillary panicles comprised of many small umbels

FRUIT:
Summer
Dark purple
Drupe

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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