Naturenotes With Rudy Mancke

Aralia spinosa is an aromatic spiny deciduous shrub or small tree growing 7–26 ft tall, with a simple or occasionally branched stem with very large bipinnate leaves 30–45 in long. The trunks are up to 6–8 in in diameter, with the plants umbrella-like in habit with open crowns. The young stems are stout and thickly covered with sharp spines. The plants generally grow in clusters of branchless trunks, although stout wide-spreading branches are occasionally produced.