Oplopanax horridus
Common name: 
Devil's Club
Pronunciation: 
op-low-PAHN-ax hor-REE-dus
Family: 
Araliaceae
Genus: 
Oplopanax
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
Yes
  • Broadleaf deciduous shrub, erect, to 12 ft (4 m), sometimes semi-prostrate, shoots, leaf petioles, and inflorescence stalk covered with firm, erect prickles ("thorns").  Leaves large, clustered near the end branches, more or less circular, 15-25 cm wide, shallow or deeply 5-13 lobed, margins irregularly sharply serrate, light green above, paler and somewhat pubescent below, both sides have pickles on the veins.   Flower greenish-white, in dense, pubescent clusters to 20 cm long.  Fruit green then scarlet- red, 8 mm long.
  • Part shade to shade, not tolerant to drought, in its habitat it is a wet-site indicator, grows on moderately well-drained to poorly drained.  Probably best in rich acid soils.
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 5    Native range from south-central Alaska east to the Yukon Territory and south along the Pacific Coast and the western slope of the Cascade Range to southern Oregon and east to Idaho, and western Montana.  There are also disjunct populations on several islands of northern Lake Superior.  Reportedly discovered by Archibald Menzies on Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island, during the Vancouver Expedition of 1790-5.
  • horridus: bristly or rough, a reference to the dense covering of prickles on shoots and other parts.
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  • plant habit, in forest habitat

    plant habit, in forest habitat

  • leaves

    leaves

  • leaf

    leaf

  • plant habit, flowering

    plant habit, flowering

  • developing flower cluster

    developing flower cluster

  • flower cluster

    flower cluster

  • developing fruit cluster

    developing fruit cluster

  • ripening fruit

    ripening fruit

  • leaves and fruit cluster

    leaves and fruit cluster

  • stem, prickles

    stem, prickles

  • plant habit, fall

    plant habit, fall

  • leaves, fall

    leaves, fall