Species: Oplopanax horridus
Devil's-club
Species
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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Anthophyta
Class
Dicotyledoneae
Order
Apiales
Family
Araliaceae
Genus
Oplopanax
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
devil's-club
Informal Taxonomy
Plants, Vascular - Flowering Plants - Ginseng Family
Formal Taxonomy
Plantae - Anthophyta - Dicotyledoneae - Apiales - Araliaceae - Oplopanax
Ecology and Life History
Short General Description
Oplopanax horridus is a perennial shrub that reaches 1-3 m tall. Its leaves are 5-7 lobed, rounded and serrated. Spines cover the leaves, petioles, and stems (Gleason 1952). Flowers in late spring to midsummer. Fruits that are produced in the fall will overwinter.
Ecology Comments
This species is browsed by deer and elk and provides shade cover for salminoids and other fishes (Vance et al. in press). It tends to grow in relatively "damaged" ecosystems (Vance et al. in press).
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G4G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
2010-06-09
Global Status Last Changed
2010-06-09
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.AB=S3&CA.BC=S4&CA.ON=S1&CA.YT=S1&US.AK=SNR&US.ID=SNR&US.MI=S2&US.MT=S5&US.OR=SNR&US.WA=SNR" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
Oplopanax horridus is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, western Canada, and Alaska. It also occurs disjunctly in Michigan and Ontario, where it is considered rare.