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FOODIES' HOME PAGE
PLANT PROFILE LIST
NAME: Devil’s Walking Stick
SPECIES / FAMILY: Aralia Spinosa / Araliaceae
OTHER COMMON NAME(S): Hercules' Club
CONDITIONS:
sun/shade
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PARTS: |
EDIBLE |
TASTE |
RAW/COOK |
SEASON |
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All |
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Shoots |
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celery |
COOK |
Spring/Summer |
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Leaves |
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RAW/CHOP/COOK |
Spring/Summer |
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Stalk/Stem |
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Buds |
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Flowers |
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Fruits |
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Pods |
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Seeds |
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Nuts |
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Roots |
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Bark |
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PORTION: small
COMMENT: Shoots cooked, make good celery substitute, young leaves raw or cooked (4) Young leaves - cooked. The leaves usually have a number of slender prickles, they must be gathered before the prickles harden and are then chopped finely and used as a potherb.(1)
CAUTION: Very thorny. Handling the roots can cause dermatitis in some people. Large amounts of the berries are poisonous.(1)
NUTRITION/MEDICINAL: Alterative; Analgesic; Diaphoretic; Ophthalmic; Sialagogue; Stimulant. Analgesic.(1) American Indians used The Club for a range of ailments,
to treat toothaches for thousands of years, with a natural kind of topical novacaine found in all parts to varying degrees. The Club also has chelerythrine, which in the lab is effective against resistant staphylococcus, a little nasty bug one picks up in hospitals.(2)
LOOK-A-LIKES:
POISONOUS LOOK-A-LIKES:
OTHER USES: great for pollinators
SOURCE LINKS (may include nutritional and medicinal info, plus other uses):
- https://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Aralia+spinosa
- http://www.eattheweeds.com/hercules-club-speak-softly-but
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aralia_spinosa
- http://www.foragingtexas.com/2008/09/devils-walking-stick.html (good photos)
- http://www.indefenseofplants.com/blog/2016/8/24/the-devils-walking-stick