Bristly Sarsaparilla

(Aralia hispida)

 

Andrew Hipp, University of Wisconsin, Stephens Point.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

 

Bristly Sarsaparilla (Aralia hispida)

Identification: Flowers white, arranged in rounded, globular umbels. Umbels large and limited to 1 to 3. Fruit a berry. Stems with strong, bristly hairs. Leaves divided, roughly pinnate, but leaflets sometimes irregular with sublobes. Plant 1 to 3 feet in height.

Distribution: From Minnesota in the west, eastward across southeastern Canada to New England in the east, southward to Illinois and Virginia.

Habitat: Bristly Sarsaparilla is a species of dry, open woods.

Flowering period: June to August.

 

Bristly Sasparilla (Aralia hispida)

Similar Species:

The species of Aralia have rounder, more globular umbels than those of umbellifers. The fruit of the family Araliaceae are berries, not dry seeds. Spikenard might be confused with Bristly Sarsaparilla. However the umbels of Spikenard are smaller and greater in number. The leaves of Spikenard, in addition, are rounded and more regular than those of Bristly Sarsaparilla.

 Similar Species