Tatarian aralia is a hardy shrub from northeastern Asia whose leaves are split into three to five leaflets like an open hand. In late summer it bears dense, almost stalkless balls of small brownish-purple flowers, followed in fall by round clusters of black fruit. It is native to Asia, not the United States.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A vigorous deciduous shrub that forms a broad, spreading bush, usually 6–13 ft (2–4 m) tall; old garden plants have reached about 12 ft (3.7 m) tall and nearly twice as wide. Its stout gray stems have few or no prickles.
- Leaves
- Compound leaves with 3–5 leaflets on a common stalk 1½–2½ in (4–6 cm) long. Leaflets are 2–5 in (5–13 cm) long, with irregular teeth; the middle one is the largest.
- Flowers
- Small brownish-purple flowers with sticking-out yellowish stamens, packed into a nearly stalkless round cluster about 1 in (2.5 cm) across. They are not showy.
- Fruit
- Round heads of black berries, 1–1¼ in (2.5–3 cm) across, ripen in fall and are more eye-catching than the flowers.
Look-alikes
Five-fingered aralia has a prickle at the base of each leaf stalk and small greenish-white flowers in stalked clusters in May–June. Tatarian aralia has few or no prickles and brownish-purple, nearly stalkless flower balls in late summer.
Why they get mixed upA close relative planted for hedges and screens in the US, with similar hand-shaped leaves and black berries.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Forest edges
- Hillsides
- Range
- Native to the Russian Far East, northern and northeastern China (Manchuria), and Korea. It is not native to the US.
Growing it
- Care
- One of the hardiest shrubs brought from northern Asia; it doesn't leaf out too early during mild winter spells. It is grown from seed.
Name and classification
- About the name
- Formerly known as Acanthopanax sessiliflorus. The species name sessiliflorus means "stalkless flowers."
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- In Korea and China, the dried bark of the stems and roots has long been used in traditional medicine.
More species to explore
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