Devil's club • Oplopanax horridus • Heiltsuk/Haíɫzaqv - wíq̓ás
Devil's club on Calvert Island, including a closeup of its large spines. Photos by Sara Wickham (top), Brian Starzomski (bottom left), and Angeleen Olson (bottom right, fruiting).
Identification
Devil's club is a somewhat sprawling, 1-3 m tall deciduous shrub. Its thick, crooked stems are sparsely branched, but are usually tangled due to the spines that cover the plant's branches and stems. Devil's club lives up to its name with these spines, which can be up to 1 cm long and can be quite uncomfortable to encounter! Small spines cover the undersides of the leaves as well. The leaves grow to 35 cm across and are shaped like maple leaves, with 7-9 distinctly separate and pointed lobes. The shrub's small white flowers — as well as its small, bright red berries — grow in tall, pyramid-shaped clusters. The berries are not edible to humans.
Habitat & Range
Devil's club is found in cool, shady, and moist or wet areas such as damp forests and along streams. It likes nitrogen-rich soils, and generally is restricted to low or subalpine elevations. It can be the dominant plant in some areas. Its range covers almost all of BC, and continues northward into parts of Alaska and the Yukon Territory, eastward into Alberta, and southward into Washington and Oregon, and Montana. It has also been found sporadically in areas of Ontario and Michigan.
Human Uses
Devil's club has numerous medicinal, practical, ceremonial, and spiritual uses in the traditional cultures of coastal First Nations groups. The many medicinal purposes of this plant vary between cultures, though most traditional medicines used the roots and green inner bark. Some of the most commonly treated ailments were arthritis, rheumatism, gastrointestinal issues, colds and fever, and diabetes. Many people suffering from diabetes today still drink devil's club bark tea. While the berries are not edible to humans they were also used medicinally, such as in treating dandruff and lice.
Intriguing Info
Park officers in Alaska have recruited devil's club as a natural fence, using the plant's spines to keep visitors from wandering off trails. Scientists and health officials in Alaska are also hoping to use the plant to develop a marketable tea for treating tuberculosis which would then be marketed to China, though this can be contentious as it brings up issues of appropriation of traditional knowledge and intellectual property. Read more about these uses of devil's club in Alaska.
Devil's club is related to ginseng.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/83914-Oplopanax-horridus
Devil's club is a somewhat sprawling, 1-3 m tall deciduous shrub. Its thick, crooked stems are sparsely branched, but are usually tangled due to the spines that cover the plant's branches and stems. Devil's club lives up to its name with these spines, which can be up to 1 cm long and can be quite uncomfortable to encounter! Small spines cover the undersides of the leaves as well. The leaves grow to 35 cm across and are shaped like maple leaves, with 7-9 distinctly separate and pointed lobes. The shrub's small white flowers — as well as its small, bright red berries — grow in tall, pyramid-shaped clusters. The berries are not edible to humans.
Habitat & Range
Devil's club is found in cool, shady, and moist or wet areas such as damp forests and along streams. It likes nitrogen-rich soils, and generally is restricted to low or subalpine elevations. It can be the dominant plant in some areas. Its range covers almost all of BC, and continues northward into parts of Alaska and the Yukon Territory, eastward into Alberta, and southward into Washington and Oregon, and Montana. It has also been found sporadically in areas of Ontario and Michigan.
Human Uses
Devil's club has numerous medicinal, practical, ceremonial, and spiritual uses in the traditional cultures of coastal First Nations groups. The many medicinal purposes of this plant vary between cultures, though most traditional medicines used the roots and green inner bark. Some of the most commonly treated ailments were arthritis, rheumatism, gastrointestinal issues, colds and fever, and diabetes. Many people suffering from diabetes today still drink devil's club bark tea. While the berries are not edible to humans they were also used medicinally, such as in treating dandruff and lice.
Intriguing Info
Park officers in Alaska have recruited devil's club as a natural fence, using the plant's spines to keep visitors from wandering off trails. Scientists and health officials in Alaska are also hoping to use the plant to develop a marketable tea for treating tuberculosis which would then be marketed to China, though this can be contentious as it brings up issues of appropriation of traditional knowledge and intellectual property. Read more about these uses of devil's club in Alaska.
Devil's club is related to ginseng.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/83914-Oplopanax-horridus
References
Pojar, J. and MacKinnon, A. (1994). Plants of Coastal British Columbia, Revised. Vancouver, BC: Lone Pine Publishing. P. 82.
Oplopanax horridus (Sm.) Miq. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 27/06/2013.
Senkowsky, S. (2003). Wonder weed: can devil's club beat TB, other ills? National Geographic Today. National Geographic Society. Accessed 27/06/2013.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2013).
Pojar, J. and MacKinnon, A. (1994). Plants of Coastal British Columbia, Revised. Vancouver, BC: Lone Pine Publishing. P. 82.
Oplopanax horridus (Sm.) Miq. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 27/06/2013.
Senkowsky, S. (2003). Wonder weed: can devil's club beat TB, other ills? National Geographic Today. National Geographic Society. Accessed 27/06/2013.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2013).