Aralia/əˈreɪliə/,[1] or spikenard, is a genus of the family Araliaceae, consisting of 68 accepted species of deciduous or evergreen trees, shrubs, and rhizomatous herbaceous perennials. The genus is native to Asia and the Americas, with most species occurring in mountain woodlands. Aralia plants vary in size, with some herbaceous species only reaching 50 centimetres (20 in) tall, while some are trees growing to 20 metres (66 ft) tall.
Aralia plants have large bipinnate (doubly compound) leaves clustered at the ends of their stems or branches; in some species the leaves are covered with bristles. The stems of some woody species are quite prickly, as in Aralia spinosa. The flowers are whitish or greenish occurring in terminal panicles, and the spherical dark purple berry-like fruits are popular with birds.
Aralia species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the common emerald (Hemithea aestivaria). There are many colours of aralia flowers. The main flower is whitish aralia.
Some species, notably Aralia cordata, are edible and are cultivated for human consumption.
Aralia nudicaulis (commonly wild sarsaparilla, false sarsaparilla, shot bush, small spikenard, wild liquorice, and rabbit root) is a species of flowering...
Aralia spinosa, commonly known as devil's walking stick, is a woody species of plant in the genus Aralia of the family Araliaceae. It is native to eastern...
Fatsia japonica, also fatsi, paperplant, false castor oil plant, or Japanese aralia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae, native to southern...
Aralia elata, also known as the Japanese angelica tree, Chinese angelica-tree, or Korean angelica-tree, is a species of woody plant in the family Araliaceae...
Aralia cordata is an upright herbaceous perennial plant growing up to 2 to 3 metres (6.6 to 9.8 ft) in height, native to Japan, Korea, Russian Far East...
Polyscias scutellaria, the shield aralia, or plum aralia, is a tropical shrub or small tree reaching 2–6 meters in height. A native of eastern Malesia...
Aralia racemosa, with common names American spikenard, small spikenard, Indian root, spice berry, spignet, life-of-man, petty morel, is an ornamental plant...
Aralia chinensis (known as Chinese angelica-tree, syn. Aralia sinensis hort.) is a species of the family Araliaceae native to China, Vietnam, and Borneo...
Polyscias fruticosa, or Ming aralia, is a perennial plant, dicot evergreen shrub or dwarf tree, native to India. The plant grows fairly slowly but can...
called Schefflera elegantissima and Dizygotheca elegantissima), the false aralia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae, native to New...
Aralia californica, known by the common name elk clover though not actually a clover, is a large herb in the family Araliaceae, the only member of the...
importance. Some genera, such as Hedera (the ivies), Fatsia (Japanese aralias) and Heptapleurum (formerly Schefflera, the umbrella trees), are used as...
Kalopanax septemlobus, common names castor aralia, tree aralia, and prickly castor oil tree, is a deciduous tree in the family Araliaceae, the sole species...
Aralia excelsa is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It is native to Mexico, Central America, northern South America and parts of the...
973 Aralia (prov. designation: A922 FB or 1922 LR) is an asteroid of the Ursula family located in the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately...
Polyscias guilfoylei, the geranium aralia or wild coffee, is a species of evergreen shrub native to the paleotropics and neotropics. It is not closely...
Aralia castanopsicola, synonym Pentapanax castanopsicola, is a species of plant in the family Araliaceae. It is endemic to Taiwan. It is threatened by...
Polyscias balfouriana, known as Balfour aralia or dinner plate aralia, is a species in the family Araliaceae. The species is native from New Guinea to...
Aralia frodiniana is a plant species endemic to the Island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. It is a shrub with prickles on the stems. Leaves are bipinnate with...
Aralia dasyphylloides is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae, native to south China. Some sources have included it in Aralia dasyphylla...
Aralia stipulata is a plant species native to China. Wen, Jun (2000-11-01). "Internal Transcribed Spacer Phylogeny of the Asian and Eastern North American...
Aralia rex is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It has also been treated as Megalopanax rex, the only species in the genus Megalopanax...
formerly classified within a broader interpretation of the related genus Aralia. A sterile hybrid between Fatsia japonica and Hedera hibernica, named ×...
Aralia malabarica is a species of plant in the family Araliaceae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of southern India. It grows as an understorey tree...
Cerithiopsis aralia is a species of sea snail, a gastropod in the family Cerithiopsidae, which is known from the Gulf of Mexico. It was described by Olsson...
Aralia elegans is a species of plant in the family Araliaceae. It is endemic to China. C.N. Ho Acta Phytotax. Sin. 2(1): 77–78, pl. 6 1953 China Plant...
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