How to Manage and ID Aralia spinosa

Anyone who has accidentally brushed against a Devil’s-Walkingstick or Hercules-club does not soon forget the experience. Aralia spinosa is well named with extremely sharp spines along a thin trunk. Even the long leaves are armed with pointed prickles, ready to scratch anyone who comes within range.
But when placed in an area where they can do no harm, Devil’s-Walkingsticks add a tropical effect to a naturalized setting where the large leaves can easily spread out to their full length atop the slender, 10 to 15-foot-tall trunks. Under ideal conditions, these small trees can even reach 25 to 30 feet tall.

Scientific name: Aralia spinosa
Pronunciation: uh-RAIL-ee-uh spy-NO-suh
Common name(s): Devils-Walkingstick, Hercules-Club
Family: Araliaceae
USDA hardiness zones: 5 through 9A
Origin: native to North America
Uses: reclamation plant; specimen. Tends to be invasive and should only be planted singly and in controlled settings. Reclamation efforts with this plant are usually regretted.

Height: 10 to 15 feet
Spread: 6 to 10 feet
Crown uniformity: irregular outline or silhouette
Crown shape: upright
Crown density: open
Growth rate: medium
Texture: fine

Leaf arrangement: alternate
Leaf type: bipinnately compound; odd pinnately compound
Leaflet margin: serrate
Leaflet shape: ovate
Leaflet venation: pinnate
Leaf type and persistence: deciduous
Leaflet blade length: 2 to 4 inches
Leaf color: green
Fall color: copper; red
Fall characteristic: not showy

Trunk/bark/branches: routinely grown with, or trainable to be grown with, multiple trunks; grow mostly upright and will not droop; not particularly showy; tree wants to grow with several trunks but can be trained to grow with a single trunk; thorns are present on the trunk or branches
Pruning requirement: requires pruning to develop strong structure
Breakage: susceptible to breakage either at the crotch due to poor collar formation, or the wood itself is weak and tends to break

Flower color: white
Flower characteristics: showy; summer flowering
Fruit shape: round
Fruit length: < .5 inch
Fruit covering: fleshy
Fruit color: black; purple
Fruit characteristics: attracts birds; inconspicuous and not showy; no significant litter problem

Light requirement: tree grows in part shade/part sun; tree grows in full sun
Soil tolerances: clay; loam; sand; acidic; alkaline; extended flooding; well-drained
Drought tolerance: moderate

As the tree ages, the Hercules-club bark overgrows the thorns forming odd corky bumps. Eventually, the tips of the thorns will either break off or be completely buried within the bark. It is a very interesting plant to look at during all stages of life.

Is I mentioned, young Hercules' clubs have massive amounts of thorns on the trunk and branches. The tree is actually considered an undesirable species because of an ability of the tree to aggressively take over a site (called invasive). These trees can actually cause physical distress when grabbed or fallen on.