Devil's Club
Encyclopedia
Devil's Club is a large shrub
primarily native to the cool moist forests of western North America
, but also disjunct on islands in Lake Superior
. It is noted for its large palmate leaves and erect, woody stems covered in brittle spines. Also known as Devil's Walking Stick, the species was once included in the closely related genus Fatsia
as Fatsia horrida.
Devil's Club generally grows to 1 to 1.5 m (3.3 to 4.9 ) tall; however, instances exist of it reaching in excess of 5 metres (16.4 ft) in rainforest gullies. The spines are found along the upper and lower surfaces of veins of its leaves as well as the stems. The leaves
are spirally arranged on the stems, simple, palmately lobed with 5-13 lobes, 20 to 40 cm (7.9 to 15.7 ) across. The flower
s are produced in dense umbel
s 10 to 20 cm (3.9 to 7.9 ) diameter, each flower small, with five greenish-white petals. The fruit
is a small red drupe
4 to 7 mm (0.15748031496063 to 0.275590551181102 ) diameter.
The plant is covered with brittle yellow spines that break off easily if the plants are handled or disturbed, and the entire plant has been described as having a "primordial" appearance. Devil's Club is very sensitive to human impact and does not reproduce quickly. The plants are slow growing and take many years to reach seed bearing maturity, and predominately exist in dense, moist, old growth conifer forests in the Pacific Northwest.
and eastward to western Alberta
and Montana
. Disjunct native populations also occur over 1500 kilometres (932.1 mi) away in Lake Superior
on Isle Royale
and Passage Island
, Michigan
and Porphyry Island
and Slate Island
, Ontario
.http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/oplhor/all.html
through a layering
process. What can appear to be several different plants may actually have all been one plant originally, with the clones detaching themselves after becoming established by laying down roots.
Native Americans used the plant both as food and medicine. The plant was traditionally used by Native Americans to treat adult-onset diabetes and a variety of tumors. Traditionally, it was and is still used to make paints. In vitro
studies showed that extracts of Devil's Club inhibit tuberculosis
microbes.
Because Devil's club is related to American Ginseng
, some think that the plant is an adaptogen
("mind enhancer"). The plant has been harvested for this purpose and marketed widely as "Alaskan ginseng", which may damage populations of Devil's Club and its habitat. The genus Panax ('true' ginseng) is exceptional among Araliaceae
both morphologically and chemically. Other, even closely related plants with proven adaptogen
effects, such as Eleutherococcus senticosus
the "siberian ginseng", are chemically dissimilar to Panax ginseng.
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
primarily native to the cool moist forests of western North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, but also disjunct on islands in Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
. It is noted for its large palmate leaves and erect, woody stems covered in brittle spines. Also known as Devil's Walking Stick, the species was once included in the closely related genus Fatsia
Fatsia
Fatsia is a small genus of three species of evergreen shrubs native to southern Japan and Taiwan. They have stout, sparsely branched stems bearing spirally-arranged, large leathery, palmately lobed leaves 20-50 cm in width, on a petiole up to 50 cm long, and small creamy-white flowers in...
as Fatsia horrida.
Devil's Club generally grows to 1 to 1.5 m (3.3 to 4.9 ) tall; however, instances exist of it reaching in excess of 5 metres (16.4 ft) in rainforest gullies. The spines are found along the upper and lower surfaces of veins of its leaves as well as the stems. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are spirally arranged on the stems, simple, palmately lobed with 5-13 lobes, 20 to 40 cm (7.9 to 15.7 ) across. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are produced in dense umbel
Umbel
An umbel is an inflorescence which consists of a number of short flower stalks which are equal in length and spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs....
s 10 to 20 cm (3.9 to 7.9 ) diameter, each flower small, with five greenish-white petals. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a small red drupe
Drupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
4 to 7 mm (0.15748031496063 to 0.275590551181102 ) diameter.
The plant is covered with brittle yellow spines that break off easily if the plants are handled or disturbed, and the entire plant has been described as having a "primordial" appearance. Devil's Club is very sensitive to human impact and does not reproduce quickly. The plants are slow growing and take many years to reach seed bearing maturity, and predominately exist in dense, moist, old growth conifer forests in the Pacific Northwest.
Habitat
This species usually grows in moist, dense forest habitats, and is most abundant in old growth conifer forests. It is found from Southcentral Alaska to western OregonOregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and eastward to western Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
and Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. Disjunct native populations also occur over 1500 kilometres (932.1 mi) away in Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
on Isle Royale
Isle Royale
Isle Royale is an island of the Great Lakes, located in the northwest of Lake Superior, and part of the state of Michigan. The island and the 450 surrounding smaller islands and waters make up Isle Royale National Park....
and Passage Island
Isle Royale
Isle Royale is an island of the Great Lakes, located in the northwest of Lake Superior, and part of the state of Michigan. The island and the 450 surrounding smaller islands and waters make up Isle Royale National Park....
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
and Porphyry Island
Porphyry Island
Porphyry Island is an island in Unorganized Thunder Bay District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is the last island in a chain stretching south west of the Black Bay Peninsula in Lake Superior...
and Slate Island
Slate Islands (Ontario)
The Slate Islands archipelago is formed of two main islands, five minor islands and numerous islets located in northern Lake Superior, 10 km south of the town of Terrace Bay. The islands were created by a meteorite impact which formed a crater about wide. In 1985, the Ontario government...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/oplhor/all.html
Propagation
Devil's club reproduces by forming clonal coloniesClonal colony
A clonal colony or genet is a group of genetically identical individuals that have grown in a given location, all originating vegetatively from a single ancestor. In plants, an individual in such a population is referred to as a ramet...
through a layering
Layering
Layering is a means of plant propagation in which a portion of an aerial stem grows roots while still attached to the parent plant and then detaches as an independent plant. Layering has evolved as a common means of vegetative propagation of numerous species in natural environments...
process. What can appear to be several different plants may actually have all been one plant originally, with the clones detaching themselves after becoming established by laying down roots.
Uses
In vitro
In vitro refers to studies in experimental biology that are conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from their usual biological context in order to permit a more detailed or more convenient analysis than can be done with whole organisms. Colloquially, these experiments...
studies showed that extracts of Devil's Club inhibit tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
microbes.
Because Devil's club is related to American Ginseng
American Ginseng
American ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the ivy family, commonly used as Chinese or herbal medicine.It is native to eastern North America, though it is also cultivated in places such as China....
, some think that the plant is an adaptogen
Adaptogen
An adaptogen is a herbal product claimed to increase resistance to stress, trauma, anxiety and fatigue. The term is used mainly by herbalists who also refer to adaptogens as rejuvenating herbs, qi tonics, rasayanas, or restoratives...
("mind enhancer"). The plant has been harvested for this purpose and marketed widely as "Alaskan ginseng", which may damage populations of Devil's Club and its habitat. The genus Panax ('true' ginseng) is exceptional among Araliaceae
Araliaceae
Araliaceae is a family of flowering plants, also known as the Aralia family or Ivy family. The family includes 254 species of trees, shrubs, lianas and perennial herbaceous plants into 2 subfamilies...
both morphologically and chemically. Other, even closely related plants with proven adaptogen
Adaptogen
An adaptogen is a herbal product claimed to increase resistance to stress, trauma, anxiety and fatigue. The term is used mainly by herbalists who also refer to adaptogens as rejuvenating herbs, qi tonics, rasayanas, or restoratives...
effects, such as Eleutherococcus senticosus
Eleutherococcus senticosus
Eleutherococcus senticosus is a species of small, woody shrub in the family Araliaceae native to Northeastern Asia. It is often colloquially referred to as Siberian Ginseng or eleuthero, and is sometimes shortened to E. senticosus in medical literature. E...
the "siberian ginseng", are chemically dissimilar to Panax ginseng.
External links
- Michigan Natural Features Inventory -- Oplopanax horridus
- USDA plants profile: Oplopanax horridus
- Edibility of Devil's Club: Visual identification and edible parts of Devil's Club.