Difference between revisions of "Devil's club"

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'''Devil's club''' or '''devil's walking stick''' ('''''Oplopanax horridus''''', [[Araliaceae]]; [[synonymy|syn.]] ''Echinopanax horridus'', ''Fatsia horrida''<ref name= Pojar >{{cite book  | last = Pojar | first = Jim |author2=Andy MacKinnon | title = Plants of Coastal British Columbia|publisher = BC Ministry of Forests and Lone Pine Publishing| pages = 82 | year = 1994 | isbn =  1-55105-042-0}}</ref>) is a large understory [[shrub]] endemic to the arboreal rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, but also [[Disjunct distribution|disjunct]] on islands in [[Lake Superior]]. It is noted for its large palmate leaves and erect, woody stems covered in noxious and irritating spines. It is also known as '''Alaskan ginseng''' and similar names, although it is not a true [[ginseng]].
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'''Devil's club''' or '''devil's walking stick'''
* The [[Tsimshian]] People of the North Coast of [[British Columbia]], Canada, use this as traditional medicine.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}
 
 
 
== Description ==
 
[[File:Devil's club leaf.jpg|thumb|Leaf of a devil's club, in late summer]]
 
Devil's club generally grows to {{convert|1|to|1.5|m}} tall. Some stands located in [[temperate rainforest|rainforest]] gullies or moist, undisturbed areas can reach heights of {{convert|3|m}} to {{convert|5|m}} or more. The spines are found along the upper and lower surfaces of veins of its leaves as well as the stems. The [[leaf|leaves]] are spirally arranged on the stems, simple, palmately lobed with 5-13 lobes, {{convert|20|to|40|cm}} across. The [[flower]]s are produced in dense [[umbel]]s {{convert|10|to|20|cm}} diameter, each flower small, with five greenish-white petals. The [[fruit]] is a small red [[drupe]] {{convert|4|to|7|mm}} diameter.<ref name= Pojar/>
 
 
 
The plant is covered with brittle yellow spines that break off easily if the plants are handled or disturbed, and the entire plant has been described as having a "primordial" appearance.  Devil's club is very sensitive to human impact and does not reproduce quickly.  The
 
plants are slow growing and take many years to reach seed-bearing maturity, and predominately exist in dense, moist, old-growth conifer forests in the Pacific Northwest.<ref name= Pojar/>
 
 
 
[[File:Oplopanax horridus 6385.JPG|thumb|left|Shiny red drupes in elongate clusters ([[Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest]]).]]
 
 
 
==Habitat==
 
This species usually grows in moist, dense forest habitats, and is most abundant in old-growth conifer forests.  It is found from [[Southcentral Alaska]] to western [[Oregon]] and eastward to western [[Alberta]] and [[Montana]]. Disjunct native populations also occur over {{convert|1500|km}} away in [[Lake Superior]] on [[Isle Royale]] and [[Isle Royale|Passage Island]], [[Michigan]] and [[Porphyry Island]] and [[Slate Islands (Ontario)|Slate Island]], [[Ontario]].[http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/oplhor/all.html]
 
 
 
==Propagation==
 
Devil's club reproduces by forming [[clonal colony|clonal colonies]] through a [[layering]] process. What can appear to be several different plants may actually have all been one plant originally, with the clones detaching themselves after becoming established by laying down roots.<ref>{{Cite journal | url = http://article.pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/RPAS/rpv?hm=HInit&afpf=b02-095.pdf&journal=cjb&volume=80 | title = Clonal expansion in the deciduous understory shrub, devil's club | author1 = Trevor C. Lantz | author2 = Joseph A. Antos | journal = Can. J. Bot. | volume = 80 | issue = 10 | pages = 1052–1062 | year = 2002 | doi = 10.1139/b02-095 }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
 
 
 
==Uses==
 
 
 
[[Image:Oplopanax horridus 15099.JPG|thumb|right|Spines of ''O. horridus'', [[Squak Mountain State Park]], [[Issaquah, Washington]]]]
 
[[Image:Oplopanax horridus form.jpg|right|thumb|Large leaves extend from the top of spiny stems.]]
 
Traditionally, the charcoal from the stalks is still used to make ceremonial and protective face paints, and among the [[Ditidaht]] and neighboring groups, it was equally significant to [[red ochre]] as a symbolic link to the spirit world. Native American peoples such as the Tlingit and Haida have used the plant as traditional medicine for ailments such as adult-onset diabetes, as well as [[rheumatoid arthritis]].<ref name="Turner">{{cite web |url=http://ethnobiology.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/JoE/2-1/Turner1982.pdf |title=Traditional Use of Devil's-Club (Oplopanax horridus; Araliaceae) by Native Peoples in Western North America |last1=Turner |first1=Nancy J. |date=May 1982 |work=J. Ethnobiol. |publisher=Society of Ethnobiology |accessdate=28 February 2013}}</ref> ''[[In vitro]]'' studies showed that extracts of devil's club inhibit [[tuberculosis]] [[microbes]].<ref name="Inui">{{cite journal|title=Counter-current chromatography based analysis of synergy in an anti-tuberculosis ethnobotanical|vauthors=Inui T, Wang Y, Deng S, Smith DC, Franzblau SG, Pauli GF |date=Jun 1, 2000|pmid=17316661|journal=Journal of Chromatography A|volume=1151|issue=1–2|pages=211–5|doi=10.1016/j.chroma.2007.01.127|pmc=2533621}}</ref> Additionally, devil's club has been shown to extend life expectancy and reduce leukemia burden in mice engrafted with murine C1498 [[acute myeloid leukemia]] cells.<ref name="Extracts of Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridus) Exert Therapeutic Efficacy in Experimental Models of Acute Myeloid Leukemia">{{cite web|last1=McGill, et. al.|title=Extracts of Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridus) Exert Therapeutic Efficacy in Experimental Models of Acute Myeloid Leukemia|url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ptr.5129/abstract|website=Wiley Online Library|accessdate=1 July 2014}}</ref>
 
 
 
The plant has also been used ceremonially by the [[Tlingit]] and [[Haida people|Haida]] people of [[Southeast Alaska]]. A piece of Devil's club hung over a doorway is said to ward off evil. The plant is harvested and used in a variety of ways, including [[poultice]]s applied externally and ointments, however the consumption of an oral tea is most common in traditional settings. .<ref>Levine, Ketzel [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3607496  Use of devil's club plant central to Tlingit culture] [[National Public Radio]] ''Morning Edition'', 8/11/2004</ref>
 
 
 
Because devil's club is related to [[American Ginseng]], some think that the plant is an [[adaptogen]]. The plant has been harvested for this purpose and marketed widely as "Alaskan ginseng",<ref>http://www.google.com/search?q=alaskan+ginseng&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8</ref> which may damage populations of devil's club and its habitat. Despite some morphological similarities between the araliaceous members ''[[Panax]]'' ('true' ginseng), [[American Ginseng]]'', [[Eleutherococcus senticosus]]'' ("Siberian ginseng") and devil's club, the different genera are chemically and ethno-botanically diverse, and in most cases under protection in the wild.
 
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
 
==External links==
 
{{commons category|Oplopanax horridus|Devil's Club}}
 
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070320152713/http://web4.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/data/rareplants.cfm?el=13372 Michigan Natural Features Inventory -- Oplopanax horridus]
 
*[http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=OPHO USDA plants profile: ''Oplopanax horridus'']
 
*[http://www.northernbushcraft.com/plants/devilsClub/notes.htm Edibility of Devil's Club]: Visual identification and edible parts of Devil's Club.
 
 
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1618457}}
 
  
 
[[Category:Araliaceae]]
 
[[Category:Araliaceae]]
[[Category:Flora of Alaska]]
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[[Category:Plants for Keenan to eat]]
[[Category:Flora of Idaho]]
 
[[Category:Haida people]]
 
[[Category:Plants used in traditional Native American medicine]]
 
[[Category:Tlingit]]
 

Latest revision as of 20:35, 13 September 2018

Devil's club
Oplopanax horridus 13393.JPG
Flowers and bumblebees
Scientific classification
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Species:
O. horridus
Binomial name
Oplopanax horridus
Synonyms

Echinopanax horridum[1]

Devil's club or devil's walking stick

Notes

  1. Hulten, Eric (1968). Flora of Alaska and Neighboring Territories. ISBN 0-8047-0643-3.