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
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Spikenard at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
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.
)
JK Marlow jkm090503_074
May Polk County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm090503_077
May Polk County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm090503_080
May Polk County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm140519_970
May Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm0307i_15
July Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm0407h_07
July Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
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).
)
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).
)
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).
)
JK Marlow jkm0308s_02
August Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
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).
)
JK Marlow jkm130824_697
August Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm090901_004
September Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
)
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).
)
JK Marlow jkm230927_5647
September Pickens County SC
Laurel Fork Heritage Preserve
)
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
116
Forb
Perennial
Polygamous
Habitat: Rich woodlands, trail margins and roadsides, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
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!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p103
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p136
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p143
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p224
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p152
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p164
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p041
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p206
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p111
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".