Hoyt Arboretum, Portland, Oregon, USA

Common name: devil's walkingstick, angelicatree

Family: Araliaceae

Distribution: East N America, New York to Florida along the Atlantic coast, and westward to Ohio, Illinois, and Texas.

Habitat: Forest Understory or at the edges of forests, deep moist soil.

IUCN Red list: Not evaluated

Black list: Unknown risk alien

Life form: Deciduous shrub

Comments: This native of Eastern USA deserves its name as there are spines on most of this plant even the leaf stems (petioles). Intense fall color along with fruit make this a champion of fall interest. The species is a close relative to Aralia elata, such plant pairs between distant but related populations in this case USA and China are called Disjuncts and give botanists insight into plant evolution and distribution.