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 Leaves Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) |  Plant Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) |  Fruit Paul Rothrock @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Perennial Similar Species: Aralia nudicaulis, A. hispada
General Desc:
Shrub-like plant with spicy-aromatic roots, pale yellow to white round flower clusters and showy berries that turn dark purple when mature. Dark maroon stems may be smooth or hairy, are thornless and widely branching with leaves over 2 feet long.
Identification notes: Bright green, alternate, ovate leaves with serrated margins; small sprays of delicate 5-petaled pale yellow to white flowers, petals triangular, bent backward from a rounded and raised center, protruding white stamens and stigmas.
Height:
To 6-1/2 feet
Habitat Description: Rich, moist soils in coniferous forests and thickets usually in shade or partial shade.
Plant Communities:
Montane Conifer Forest
Elevation: 5000 - 9500 feet
Color:
Pale yellow to white
Shape:
Regular in round clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Jul - Aug
Description:
The main flower stalk grows to 12 inches long, and consists of many rounded flower clusters (umbrella-shaped) on separate stalks. Each flower in the cluster has a stem covered with short white hairs and 5 small triangular petals that bend backward.
Leaf Color:
Bright green
Leaf Type:
Compound
Leaf Shape:
Other
Leaf Margin:
Toothed
Leaf Attachment:
Alternate
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Leaves are over 2 feet long, feather-shaped, with 9 to 21 leaflets each up to 5-1/2 inches long. Oval leaflets are heart-shaped at the base, narrowing to a pointed tip, sharply toothed, often with fine hairs along the underside of leaf veins when mature.
Fruit Color: Reddish-brown to dark purple
Fruit Type: Berry-like
Fruit Notes: Fruit is rounded and fleshy, berry-like, up to 1/4 inch in diameter, 5-sectioned, reddish-brown at first but then turning dark purple when mature and containing several small seeds; resembles elderberries when fully ripened.
Seed Notes: Seeds are small ranging from light brown to tan in color.
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