Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Medium

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Toxins

Status

Common

About

A low woodland herb whose single long-stalked leaf unfurls above a hidden underground rhizome, with small greenish flower clusters tucked beneath the foliage. Despite its name, it's unrelated to true sarsaparilla and was historically used by Indigenous peoples and settlers as a root-beer flavoring substitute.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Apiales

Family

Araliaceae

Genus

Aralia

Species

Aralia nudicaulis