Devil's Walking Club, Alaskan Ginseng
Devil’s Club are large, sprawling shrubs (3-5 ft and sometimes taller) that grow in moist, dense forests. The leaves (up to 14 in across) are the size of rhubarb leaves with the shape of maple leaves.The stems and the veins on the undersides of the leaves are lined with sharp spines that break off easily. The tall pyramids of small greenish-white flowers appear in May-July developing into spikes of shiny red berries later in the summer.
Devil’s Club are most commonly found in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and Yukon but can also be found in Idaho, Montana, and around and on the islands of the Great Lakes.
The plants grow in large clumps formed by clones that break away once they have established their own roots.
Devil’s Club are considered to be a good luck plant by local Indigenous peoples and have long been used as a medicine and to make paint or dye.
Did you know? Bears eat large quantities of the berries, spreading the seeds in their droppings.
See Also: Black Hawthorn
