Five-fingered Aralia

Eleutherococcus sieboldianus (el-ew-ther-oh-KOK-us see-bold-ee-AH-nus)

Family: Araliaceae Non-native Shrub (3-15 ft)

Five-fingered aralia is an erect, upright, ornamental, deciduous shrub with slender, arching branches when the shrub is young, becoming more erect with age. It grows up to 8 to 10 feet tall and equally as wide, with green palmate leaves having 3 to 5 leaflets, small inconspicuous greenish-white flowers in the spring, and small black berries during the summer. This shrub also has sharp spines located at the stem nodes, just below each leaf. The five-fingered aralia is native to Southeast China, and it is usually found in forests, hedgerows, or forest edges. Although this shrub is a member of the ginseng family (Araliaceae), it is not in the genus Aralia . The genus name, Eleutherococcus, originated from two Greek words: eleutheros , meaning free, and kokkos, meaning seed. This refers to the seed arrangement inside its fruit. The specific epithet sieboldianus honors Dr. Philip Franz van Siebold of Germany, a physician and plant collector from the 18th century. This low-maintenance shrub prefers partial shade to full shade and is adaptable to a variety of moist, well-drained soil types. It is drought-tolerant and tolerant of poor soils and urban pollution. The shrub is hardy from zones 4 to 9, but it should be sheltered from the north and east. It can be severely pruned and is easy to transplant. It roots sucker readily, and is propagated by softwood cuttings. This species is dioecious and requires a male and female shrub to produce fruit. Mostly female shrubs are sold commercially. Its thorns make it a good candidate for a screen or security planting, or a shrub border, foundation planting, or the background of a planting bed. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant insect pests or diseases.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 60 attributes.