Introductory
SPECIES: Aralia spinosa | Devil's Walking Stick 



ABBREVIATION : 
ARASPI

SYNONYMS : 
NO-ENTRY


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   ARSP2


COMMON NAMES : 
   Devil's walking stick
   prickly ash
   Hercules club
   angelica tree
   pigeon tree
   prickly elder
   pick tree
   toothache tree
   shotbush


TAXONOMY : 
The accepted scientific name of Devil's walking stick is Aralia spinosa
L.  There are no named varieties [7,8,24].


LIFE FORM : 
Tree, Shrub

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Janet Sullivan, September 1992


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Sullivan, Janet. 1992. Aralia spinosa. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Aralia spinosa | Devil's Walking Stick 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Devil's walking stick is found naturally occurring in eastern North
America from New York and Pennsylvania south to Florida and west to
southwestern Iowa and western Texas.  It has escaped from cultivation in
New England to southern Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon,
Washington, and western Europe [4,19,33].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES12  Longleaf - slash pine
   FRES13  Loblolly - shortleaf pine
   FRES14  Oak - pine
   FRES15  Oak - hickory
   FRES16  Oak - gum - cypress
   FRES17  Elm - ash - cottonwood
   FRES18  Maple - beech - birch


STATES : 
     AL  AR  CT  DE  FL  GA  IL  IN  KY  LA
     MD  MA  MI  MO  MS  NC  NJ  NY  OH  OK
     ON  OR  PA  RI  SC  TN  TX  VA  WA  WV
     WI


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     ALPO  ASIS  BISO  BITH  BLRI  CAHA
     CHCH  COLO  COSW  CUGA  CUIS  CUVA
     DEWA  FIIS  FOCA  FODO  GWMP  GRSM
     HOBE  JOFL  MACA  NATR  NERI  OBRI
     PRWI  ROCR  SHIL


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    1  Northern Pacific Border
    2  Cascade Mountains
    5  Columbia Plateau


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K089  Black Belt
   K100  Oak - hickory forest
   K101  Elm - ash forest
   K102  Beech - maple forest
   K103  Mixed mesophytic forest
   K104  Appalachian oak forest
   K106  Northern hardwoods
   K107  Northern hardwoods - fir forest
   K108  Northern hardwoods - spruce forest
   K109  Transition between K104 and K106
   K110  Northeastern oak - pine forest
   K111  Oak - hickory - pine forest
   K112  Southern mixed forest
   K113  Southern floodplain forest
   K114  Pocosin


SAF COVER TYPES : 
    16  Aspen
    17  Pin cherry
    18  Paper birch
    19  Gray birch - red maple
    24  Hemlock - yellow birch
    25  Sugar maple - beech - yellow birch
    26  Sugar maple - basswood
    27  Sugar maple
    28  Black cherry - maple
    40  Post oak - blackjack oak
    44  Chestnut oak
    52  White oak - black oak - northern red oak
    57  Yellow-poplar
    59  Yellow-poplar - white oak - northern red oak
    60  Beech - sugar maple
    63  Cottonwood
    65  Pin oak - sweetgum
    75  Shortleaf pine
    76  Shortleaf pine - oak
    80  Loblolly pine - shortleaf pine
    81  Loblolly pine
    82  Loblolly pine - hardwood
    83  Longleaf pine - slash pine
    87  Sweet gum - yellow-poplar
   108  Red maple
   109  Hawthorn


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
NO-ENTRY

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Aralia spinosa | Devil's Walking Stick 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Insects harvest pollen and nectar from the flowers of Devil's walking
stick [8].  The fruits are used as food by many birds and other
frugivores, including black bear [7,8,14,15].  Van Dersal reported that
deer use Devil's walking stick as browse [32].  White [37] did not
observe any deer browsing of young ramets but did observe stem damage
due to antler rubbing.


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Devil's walking stick bark, roots, and berries have been used for
medicinal purposes, both by Native Americans and European settlers.  It
is planted as an ornamental in North America and Europe [33].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Control:  Devil's walking stick is killed by aerosol applications of
glyphosate at rates of 1.50 to 2.25 pounds per acre (0.56-2.52 kg/ha)
applied three times at 2-week intervals from mid-August to mid-September
[35].  Korostoff [17] reported that Devil's walking stick is controlled
by cutting and application of herbicide to the stump.  The most
effective treatment reported by Loftis [20] is injection of stems larger
than 2 inches in diameter with herbicide; basal sprays were ineffective
on his study sites.

Establishment:  Devil's walking stick populations are maintained only on
disturbed sites.  When the overstory cover becomes thick enough, Devil's
walking stick declines.  Defoliation by gypsy moth infestation in
Pennsylvania and Maryland resulted in an increase in stems per acre of
Devil's walking stick, due both to injury of Devil's walking stick
ramets and to release by removal of overstory [12].  Mowing or cutting
of stems results in vigorous sprouting of new ramets from underground
rhizomes and is recommended for maintenance of vigorous stands [14,15].
Fire also produces appropriate disturbances and stem damage, and could
be used to maintain Devil's walking stick stands [36].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Aralia spinosa | Devil's Walking Stick 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Devil's walking stick is a spiny, few-branched, flat-topped tree or
shrub 25 to 35 feet (7-10 m) tall.  It grows from extensive rhizomes
[4,24,33,36,37].  The stems tend to remain unbranched until the first
terminal inflorescences are produced at an average age of 3.5 years.
There are abundant prickles on the stems and leaves of first-year ramets
[13,36,37].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte (mesophanerophyte)


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Devil's walking stick perennates by rhizomes, producing ramets.  Leaves
may be killed by frost in winter; severe frost can kill stems back to
ground level [13].  Flowers are pollinated by insects, mostly bees.
Seeds are dispersed by frugivores, and germination is in the spring
following stratification [8,32,33].  Artificial propagation can be
achieved through root cuttings [32].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Devil's walking stick is found in upland and low woods, pocosins, and
savannahs [24].  It prefers rich moist soils and is found at edges of
streams, and in thickets and shrub bays [13,33].  Some of the plant
species associated with Devil's walking stick include black cherry
(Prunus serotina), eastern hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), tree
sparkleberry (Vaccinium arboreum), red maple (Acer rubrum var trilobum),
American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), common persimmon (Diospyros
virginiana), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), Carolina jessamine
(Gelsemium sempervirens), Bignonia capreolata, St. Andrew's cross
(Ascyrum hypericoides), common sweetleaf (Symplocos tinctoria),
Vaccinium spp., and passionflower (Passiflora lutea) [23].  Associates
on a Texas shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata)/white oak (Quercus alba)
community include Meliz azedarach, hawthorn (Crataegus crus-galli), and
flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) [36].

Devil's walking stick is found in Louisiana in openings in upland
hardwoods, with plant associates including sassafras, American holly
(Ilex opaca), flowering dogwood, sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum),
serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.), common persimmon, Vaccinium spp., grape
(Vitis spp.), eastern hophornbeam, Viburnum spp., and Carolina buckthorn
(Rhamnus caroliniana).  It is also found on gullied land and on moist
bottomlands with plant associates including American sycamore (Platanus
occidentalis) and green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) [28].

Devil's walking stick is found in southern Appalachian forests in
openings from 8,042 square feet to 10,763 square feet (750-1,000 sq m),
with the frequency of occurrence dropping off with larger gaps; it is
not found in undisturbed understory [26].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Obligate Initial Community Species

Devil's walking stick is shade intolerant [31].  In a study of
succession in Illinois oak (Quercus velutina) woodlands , Shotola [27]
reported that a population of Devil's walking stick (documented in 1967)
decreased as a population of sugar maple (Acer saccarum) increased; by
1983, no individuals were found.  The assumption is that the increased
canopy coverage was unfavorable to Devil's walking stick.  Devil's
walking stick is also found in abundance in clearcuts, but not in
adjacent intact pine plantations in Ohio.  The population on this site
increased in the third and fourth years after the clearcut.  There is
concern that the presence of Devil's walking stick on these sites may
delay subsequent establishment of hardwood species [1].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Devil's walking stick flowers in July and August, setting fruit
that ripens from September to October [33].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Aralia spinosa | Devil's Walking Stick 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Tree with adventitious-bud root crown/root sucker
   Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
   Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)
   Secondary colonizer - off-site seed

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Aralia spinosa | Devil's Walking Stick 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Removal of aboveground portions of stems by means other than fire is
reported to result in vigorous resprouting of new ramets.  It is
reasonable to assume, although not documented, that fire death of
aboveground stems would have the same result [36].  Periodic fires
create openings in forest canopies that allow Devil's walking stick to
establish and maintain populations [16].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Since populations of Devil's walking stick are maintained only on
disturbed areas, periodic fires that create disturbed areas and forest
openings would result in seral sites that could include Devil's walking
stick [15,16].

References for species: Aralia spinosa

1. Artigas, Francisco J.; Boerner, Ralph E. J. 1989. Advance regeneration and seed banking of woody plants in Ohio pine plantations: implications for landscape change. Landscape Ecology. 2(3): 139-150. [13633]

2. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. [434]

3. Blair, Robert M.; Brunett, Louis E. 1976. Phytosociological changes after timber harvest in a southern pine ecosystem. Ecology. 57: 18-32. [9646]

4. Blum, Barton M. 1974. Aralia L. aralia. In: Schopmeyer, C. S., technical coordinator. Seeds of woody plants in the United States. Agric. Handb. 450. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 220-222. [7459]

5. Dale, J. L. 1979. Mycoplasmalike organism observed in Aralia spinosa trees. Plant Disease Reporter. 63(6): 472-474. [20744]

6. Davidar, Priya; Morton, Eugene S. 1986. The relationship between fruit crop sizes and fruit removal rates by birds. Ecology. 67(1): 262-265. [20743]

7. Duncan, Wilbur H.; Duncan, Marion B. 1987. The Smithsonian guide to seaside plants of the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts from Louisiana to Massachusetts, exclusive of lower peninsular Florida. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. 409 p. [12906]

8. Duncan, Wilbur H.; Duncan, Marion B. 1988. Trees of the southeastern United States. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press. 322 p. [12764]

9. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]

10. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]

11. Gibson, David J.; Collins, Scott L.; Good, Ralph E. 1988. Ecosystem fragmentation of oak-pine forest in the New Jersey pinelands. Forest Ecology and Management. 25: 105-122. [8635]

12. Hix, David M.; Fosbroke, David E.; Hicks, Ray R., Jr.; Gottschalk, Kurt W. 1991. Development of regeneration following gypsy moth defoliation of Appalachian Plateau and Ridge & Valley hardwood stands. In: McCormick, Larry H.; Gottschalk, Kurt W., eds. Proceedings, 8th central hardwood forest conference; 1991 March 4-6; University Park, PA. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-148. Radnor, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station: 347-359. [15323]

13. Godfrey, Robert K. 1988. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of northern Florida and adjacent Georgia and Alabama. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press. 734 p. [10239]

14. Hellgren, Eric C.; Vaughan, Michael R.; Stauffer, Dean F. 1991. Macrohabitat use by black bears in a southeastern wetland. Journal of Wildlife Management. 55(3): 442-448. [15420]

15. Hellgren, Eric C.; Vaughan, Michael R. 1988. Seasonal food habits of black bears in Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia - North Carolina. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. 42: 295-305. [19221]

16. Johnson, A. Sydney; Hillestad, Hilburn O.; Shanholtzer, Sheryl Fanning; Shanholtzer, G. Frederick. 1974. An ecological survey of the coastal region of Georgia. Scientific Monograph Series No 3, NPS 116. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. 233 p. [16102]

17. Korostoff, Neil P. 1990. Urban ecosystem restoration: the case of the forested urban stream valley park. In: Hughes, H. Glenn; Bonnicksen, Thomas M., eds. Restoration '89: the new management challenge: Proceedings, 1st annual meeting of the Society for Ecological Restoration; 1989 January 16-20; Oakland, CA. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Arboretum, Society for Ecological Restoration: 110-124. [14692]

18. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]

19. Little, Elbert L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agric. Handb. 541. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 375 p. [2952]

20. Loftis, David L. 1978. Preharvest herbicide control of undesirable vegetation in southern Appalachian hardwoods. Southern Journal of Applied Forestry. 2(2): 51-54. [10632]

21. Lyon, L. Jack; Stickney, Peter F. 1976. Early vegetal succession following large northern Rocky Mountain wildfires. In: Proceedings, Tall Timbers fire ecology conference and Intermountain Fire Research Council fire and land management symposium; 1974 October 8-10; Missoula, MT. No. 14. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 355-373. [1496]

22. Platt, William J.; Schwartz, Mark W. 1990. Temperate hardwood forests. In: Myers, Ronald L.; Ewel, John J., eds. Ecosystems of Florida. Orlando, FL: University of Central Florida Press: 194-229. [17390]

23. Quarterman, Elsie; Keever, Catherine. 1962. Southern mixed hardwood forest: climax in the southeastern coastal plain, U.S.A. Ecological Monographs. 32: 167-185. [10801]

24. Radford, Albert E.; Ahles, Harry E.; Bell, C. Ritchie. 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. 1183 p. [7606]

25. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]

26. Runkle, James Reade. 1982. Patterns of disturbance in some old-growth mesic forests of eastern North American. Ecology. 63(5): 1533-1546. [9261]

27. Shotola, Steven J.; Weaver, G. T.; Robertson, P. A.; Ashby, W. C. 1992. Sugar maple invasion of an old-growth oak-hickory forest in southwestern Illinois. The American Midland Naturalist. 127(1): 125-138. [17581]

28. Smalley, Glendon W. 1991. Classification and evaluation of forest sites on the Natchez Trace State Forest, State Resort Park, & Wildlife Management Area in w. Tennessee. SO-85. New Orleans, LA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. 73 p. [17981]

29. Smith, Edwin B. 1982. Juvenile and adult leaflet phases in Aralia spinosa (Araliaceae). SIDA. 9(4): 330-332. [19223]

30. Steinbeck, Klaus; Dougherty, Phillip M.; Fitzgerald, Judith A. 1991. Growth of pine-hardwood mixtures on two upland sites in the Georgia piedmont: initial crown area relationships. In: Coleman, Sandra S.; Neary, Daniel G., compilers. Proceedings, 6th biennial sothern silvicultural research conference: Volume 2; 1990 October 30 - November 1; Memphis, TN. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-70. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station: 607-615. [17504]

31. Stevens, George C.; Perkins, Anjeanette L. 1992. The branching habits and life history of woody plants. The American Naturalist. 139(2): 267-275. [17983]

32. Van Dersal, William R. 1938. Native woody plants of the United States, their erosion-control and wildlife values. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 362 p. [4240]

33. Vines, Robert A. 1960. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of the Southwest. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. 1104 p. [7707]

34. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982. National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names. SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]

35. Wendel, G. W.; Kochenderfer, J. N. 1982. Glyphosate controls hardwoods in West Virginia. Res. Pap. NE-497. Upper Darby, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 7 p. [9869]

36. White, Peter S. 1984. The architecture of devil's walking stick, Aralia spinosa (Araliaceae). Journal of the Arnold Arboretum. 65: 403-418. [19224]

37. White, Peter S. 1988. Prickle distribution in Aralia spinosa (Araliaceae). American Journal of Botany. 75(2): 282-285. [19222]

38. Wilson, Robert E. 1989. The vegetation of a pine-oak forest in Franklin County, Texas, and its comparison with a similar forest in Lamar County, Texas. Texas Journal of Science. 41(2): 167-176. [8771]

Related categories for Species: Aralia spinosa | Devil's Walking Stick