''Aralia elata'', also known as the Japanese angelica tree, Chinese angelica-tree, or Korean angelica-tree, is a species of

woody plant A woody plant is a plant that produces wood as its structural tissue and thus has a hard stem. In cold climates, woody plants further survive winter or dry season above ground, as opposed to Herbaceous plant, herbaceous plants that die back to t ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Araliaceae The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consisting of primarily woody plants and some herbaceous plants commonly called the ginseng family. The morphology of Araliaceae varies widely ...

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to eastern Asia (in Russia, China, Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan).

Description

It is an upright

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

growing up to in height. The

bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...

is rough and gray with prickles. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are alternate, large, 60–120 cm long, and double

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and ...

. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are produced in large

umbel UMBEL (Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer) is a logically organized knowledge graph of 34,000 concepts and entity types that can be used in information science for relating information from disparate sources to one another. It was retired ...

s in late summer, each flower small and white. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is a small black

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

. ''Aralia elata'' is closely related to the American species ''

Aralia spinosa ''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 North America. The various names refer to the viciously sharp, spiny stems, petiole ...

'', with which it is easily confused. ''A. elata'' can be differentiated by having its inflorescence on a horizontal axis.

Cultivation

''Aralia elata'' is cultivated, often in a variegated form, for its exotic appearance. It prefers deep loamy soils in partial shade, but will grow in poorer soils and in full sun. The

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s 'Variegata' and 'Aureovariegata' have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

Culinary uses

Japan

In Japan, the

shoot Shoot most commonly refers to: * Shoot (botany), an immature plant or portion of a plant * Shooting, the firing of projectile weapons * Photo shoot, a photography session; an event wherein a photographer takes photographs Shoot may also refer t ...

s are eaten in the spring. They are picked from the end of the branches and are commonly fried in a

tempura is a typical Japanese dish that usually consists of seafood and vegetables that have been coated in a thin batter and deep-fried. Tempura originated in the 16th century, when Portuguese Jesuits brought the Western-style cooking method of ...

batter. They can also be blanched or stir fried, among other methods.

Korea

In Korea, young shoots are harvested during a month, from early April to early May, when they are soft and fragrant. In

Korean cuisine Korean cuisine is the set of foods and culinary styles which are associated with Korean culture. This cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient Prehistoric Korea, agricultural and nomad ...

, the shoots are commonly eaten blanched, pickled, pan-fried, or deep-fried. File:Dureup-sukhoe.jpg, Blanched angelica-tree shoot File:Korean cuisine-Dureup bugak and Chal jeonbyeong.jpg, Angelica-tree shoot fritter and glutinous rice pancake File:Dureup-gaji-jeon.jpg, Pan-fried angelica-tree shoot and eggplant File:Dureup-jeon 2.jpg, Pan-fried angelica-tree shoot File:Sungeo-dureup-doenjang-mayo-muchim.jpg, Mullet and angelica-tree shoot salad with soybean paste and mayonnaise dressing

Invasive species

The tree was introduced into the United States in 1830. Birds like to eat the fruits, and are spreading its seeds, allowing the tree to expand its range as an

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

in the

northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

.U.S. Dept. of Agriculture: Map of distribution in U.S. and Canada
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References

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elata Elata is a Greek village on the island of Chios. The village is situated on hilly terrain and has a population of several hundred. Elata Elata became a village hundreds of years ago when seven tribes came together to protect themselves from Tu ...

Trees of Asia Edible plants Leaf vegetables *Aralia cordata Korean vegetables Taxa named by Berthold Carl Seemann