Aralia Species, Angelica Tree, Devil's Walking Stick, Hercules' Club

Our location: Southern Robertson Co., TX .. very sandy soil.

I agree with all who admire the beauty of this plant. We ha...Read Moreve one near the house that's 20-25 ft tall and has a beautiful canopy.

With that said, I absolutely hate the d*** things! Drive your tractor near one while mowing and your shirt (or skin!) will be in shreds. They sprout up from bird droppings along fences and, if not eliminated right away, are a real pain to control later, especially if kudzu or the like get mixed in with them.

Personally, I'd never plant one on purpose. Too many other attractive choices.

Hercules' Club, Devil's Walking Stick, Angelica Tree Aralia spinosa is native to Texas and other States.

I got one self planted a few years ago, and have moved it to a permanent home. 2 feet tall, in mostly shade near a maple and already b...Read Moreloomed this year. It's the only one I've had in 17 yrs here, though there are many in woods around here. I am in the coastal plain region so I'm guessing my geography is a lot like NJ.
I think it's very interesting to the kids as long as you have a look but don't touch place for it. Triple- compound leaves. I would say if you will have one, be sure to place it while little and not have to try to touch it ever!
I have edited my original comment above and gone from positive to neutral. After having it in my garden for about five years from seedling, I guess it matured enough to invade. Dozens of root suckers sprouted up, around the tree in an area about five by five feet. I pulled all of them in midsummer. A few more have come up by fall. This would surely take some dedication to control, and since my sprouts are going into a nice neighbor's yard, I'll have to take the tree out of there.
Still, its an absolute haven to insects while it blooms. I'll be a little sorry if I can't figure out a place for it, as I know dozens of them got bulldozed behind us for housing.

Devil's Walking Stick, Aralia spinosa, growing out in the woods (not cultivated) in Choctaw County, Alabama and on a fencerow in Wayne Co...Read Moreunty, Mississippi.

I live in New Jersey. I am trying to figure out if I have a Devil's Walking Stick in my yard. It did not exist when we bought our house ...Read Morein 2003. It appeared the following year in the wooded area behind us all on it's own. It is a tall "stick" (over 5 ft tall) which has thorns on the trunk. In the winter, there are no leaves or branches at all. In the spring, a bud type thing grows at the top of the stick which then becomes branchy. Now it looks like a small tree. The branches all grow from the top of the stick and the leaves off the branches grow in pairs all along the branch. The leaves look like elongated hearts. It sort of looks "ferny" Someone told me that if this is indeed what I have, I should get rid of it by putting Round Up on it as this will spread and take over. I'd be interested in what you all think. I am new on this site and I enjoy reading your comments. I like gardening, but am a novice and most times have success by accident! Thanks!

This plant may have all sorts of positive qualities; but until you have grabbed onto one while climbing up a hillside; you have not exper...Read Moreienced pain. I have eliminated all of them on my land wherever a might walk.

This unique shrub or small tree has aromatic foliage and spiny stems.
It is found in moist soils, near streams and as an understor...Read Morey plant in hardwood forests. Often, large thickets form from the root sprouts.

It's range is from NJ and NY south to central FL. West to east TX and north to SE MO. It is naturalized north to New England, southern Ontario and into WI.

Used in Victorian gardens as a grotesque ornamental, the aromatic roots and fruit were used by settlers as home remedies...mainly for toothache.

The plants that I've photographed are at the edges of a very old cemetary, in the understory of an elderly forest. The gravestones have many deaths recorded before 1900. I'm speculating that they might have originally been planted there during a time when the place was visited frequently and used often.

devils walking stick is found growing in the woods about 30 miles north of Houston in the Conroe area. I have only seen one stand of it ...Read Morearound but has been since probably dozed out since the last time seen due to urban sprawl. A "thicket" of it is a very beautiful sight. Very interesting plant!

I have always seen this plant in the woods behind my house, but never knew anything about it. Then a friend from school moved in across ...Read Morethe street from my house and told me that some of her family was Korean and that they eat part of the plant. So i looked into it and picked the little green bud that starts in spring. She told me to wait until it was a few inches tall and pull the stalk down(without breaking it) and pop the top off. Then she blanches it in boiling water and soaks it for a few hours, changing the water often. She eats it with hot sauce, i only eat it with hot sauce and some kind of meat, chopped up and mixed. Her family calls it "too doops" or tree-tops. It grows everywhere behind the house, but mainly on the north edge of the woods line. Any questions email me(freebird12479@yahoo.com).

I recently found this plant growing in the wild near Cannelton, Indiana (on the banks of the Ohio River). It was seen in a forest settin...Read Moreg, interestingly only, or mostly, on the west slopes of dry ridgetops. This is in zone 6A.

We discovered Devil's Walking Stick when we bought this property in 1989 but didn't fully appreciate it's unique beauty until we saw it ...Read Moregrowing at Biltmore Estate, Asheville NC. In our Zone 8a region, the plant is very easy to control and not at all invasive. It thrives in deep shade but also tolerates direct sunlight, is drought tolerant and deer resistant, and is a conversation piece. It looks like something that would have survived from prehistoric times.

This spiny shrub when mature may grow to 20 feet or more and develop a few branches, but younger plants have just a single naked stem wit...Read Moreh all the leaves clustered at the top. Its thick,thorny stems and dense branching will make it a good choice as a barrier plant.This viciously spiny thing could be used as a living fence in place of barbed wire. The large, flat clusters of small white flowers are produced in late summer. These are followed by the purple to nearly black fruit that matures in August or September. The fruit are eaten by the birds and other wildlife and the flowers attract honeybees.The large,compound leaves will turn yellow in the fall.The raw berries are mildly toxic if ingested.Contact with the bark or roots can cause brief skin irritation.Will grow in full sun or light shade, but it prefers semishade.