Spikenard

(Aralia racemosa)

Color Photograph: © by and courtesy of Dennis W. Woodland, University of Wisconsin, Stephens Point.

Spikenard (Aralia racemosa)

Identification: Flowers white, arranged in a number of small, globular, branching umbels. Fruit a a dark, purple berry. Stems smooth, black. Leaves compound, divided into 6 to 21 heart- shaped leaflets with serrate outer margins. Roots aromatic. Plant 3 to 5 feet in height.

Distribution: Southern Canada and the northern United States, southward except for Florida and westward to Arizona and Utah.

Habitat: Spikenard is a species of rich, wet woods.

Flowering period: June to August.

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.

Spikenard (Aralia racemosa)

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.