1. Aralia nudicaulis L. (wild sarsaparilla)

Pl. 218 b; Map 907

Plants perennial herbs. Aerial stems absent. Leaves usually solitary from the tip of the rhizome, the petioles 15–35 cm long. Leaf blades 15–40 cm long, the 3 primary divisions each pinnately divided into 3–5 leaflets, the leaflets 3–15 cm long, narrowly elliptic to broadly ovate, the margins singly toothed, the upper surface green, the undersurface slightly lighter green, minutely hairy along the larger veins. Inflorescence solitary from the rhizome, a compound umbel with (2)3(–7) umbels, the main stalk 8–25 cm long, minutely hairy toward the tip. Petals 1–2 mm long, white or green. Fruits 6–10 mm long, purplish black. 2n=24. May–June.

Uncommon in northeastern Missouri south locally to Jefferson County (northeastern U.S. west to South Dakota and Colorado, south locally to Georgia and Missouri; Canada). Ledges of moist, shaded bluffs, on both calcareous substrates and sandstone.

Aralia nudicaulis has been used medicinally and as a beverage as a substitute for true sarsaparilla (this name actually refers to several neotropical species of Smilax). The rootstocks were used by the Iroquois and other northeastern tribes as a remedy for various blood, kidney, stomach, and other ailments and was brewed into a tea or drink (Arnason et al., 1981). The fruits were fermented into a wine. As with A. racemosa, A. nudicaulis is an ingredient in root beer.