Devil's Club

Devil's club, Oplopanax horridus, is a large understory shrub of the ginseng family, Araliaceae, native to the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, with some populations on islands in Lake Superior. It is noted for large palmate leaves and erect, woody stems covered in irritating spines. It is also called devil's walking stick and Alaskan ginseng, although it is not a true ginseng, and in Tlingit it is S’áxt’. The plant is slow growing and spreads by clonal colonies from rhizomes, which are underground stems. The Tlingit, Tsimshian and Haida peoples of Southeast Alaska and coastal British Columbia have used it ceremonially. A piece hung over a doorway is said to ward off evil. Charcoal from the stalks is used to make ceremonial and protective face paints, and the Tlingit and Haida have used the plant as traditional medicine.