Devil's Club 9/10/24

Devil's club (Oplpanax horridus) is a large plant found in many places around Alaska, it loves to grow in big dense clusters in the forest. These plants are both a blessing and a curse to those who live around them, they are a very painful plant to encounter but also have healing properties and provide food for certain animals.
These plants can reach heights of three to five feet tall, but can exceed this in some cases. As I've seen with my own two eyes, the leaves are also quite large, reaching over two feet long in some cases. The name devil’s club is an obvious reference to their prickly and intimidating appearance with large spines everywhere.
I've always had more of a healthy fear of them when off the trails, hearing about how painful their spines are and seeing them tower over other foliage with spines everywhere, even on the leaves. My mother accidentally got some of these spines in her forehead when she was traveling to a fishing spot with my dad who doesn't always pay attention to who's behind him when moving branches out of the way.
Despite their spiny nature, the devils club has been used by native Alaskans for a long time, mostly for medicinal purposes and pain relief; the parts used for this are usually the inner stalk and roots. The stalk is also hung in native Alaskan doorways to ward off evil The berries aren't for human consumption but are one of the many berries that black bears enjoy snacking on.

Posted on September 14, 2024 07:00 AM by ldurkee2