PlantFiles: American Spikenard
Aralia racemosa

American Spikenard Aralia racemosa is native to Texas and other States.

American Spikenard is one of the largest native perennial in shade in the Upper Midwest Area. It is beginning to show up in native nurseries. It have very large compound leaves and can tolerate a wide range of conditons but it look vulnerable to winds. It seeds itself at a medium to low rate, and its difficult to tell if birds or rodents eat the fruits. It doesn't seem to like droughts too much and tend to become stressed and shed it leaves early about late summer to early fall if it get more direct sun. I collected my plant from the wild near a lake in woodland shade above the water table with small numbers of ostrich ferns and hepticas.

Spikenard is a shrubby-looking, soft-stemmed, Missouri native herbaceous perennial which occurs on wooded slopes, ledges and ravines in the Ozark region and in rich, moist woods of the northeast region of the State. Features smooth, branching stems typically growing 3-5' tall (less frequently to 6') and compound foliage (9-21 coarse, heart-shaped, toothed leaflets). Tiny white flowers in numerous small umbels arranged in long, terminal panicles appear in early summer. Flowers are followed by inedible, dark purple berries. Thick roots are spicy-aromatic and have been used to flavor teas and root beer.