What is "aralia spinosa"

Hercules'-club \Hercules'-club\, Hercules'-club \Hercules'-club\, Hercules-club \Hercules-club\prop. n.

1. (Bot.) A densely spiny ornamental tree ( Zanthoxylum clava-herculis) of the rue family, growing in southeast U. S. and West Indies. [WordNet sense 1]

   Note: It belongs to the same genus as one of the trees ( Zanthoxylum Americanum) called prickly ash.

   Syn: Hercules'-clubs, Hercules-club, Zanthoxylum clava-herculis.

2. A small, prickly, deciduous clump-forming tree or shrub ( Aralia spinosa) of eastern U.S.; also called Angelica tree and prickly ash. [WordNet sense 2]

   Syn: American angelica tree, devil's walking stick, Aralia spinosa.

3. A variety of the common gourd ( Lagenaria vulgaris). Its fruit sometimes exceeds five feet in length.

Toothache \Tooth"ache`\, n. (Med.) Pain in a tooth or in the teeth; odontalgia. Toothache grass (Bot.), a kind of grass ( Ctenium Americanum) having a very pungent taste. Toothache tree. (Bot.)

1. The prickly ash.

2. A shrub of the genus Aralia ( Aralia spinosa).

Angelica \An*gel"i*ca\, n. [NL. See Angelic.] (Bot.)

1. An aromatic umbelliferous plant ( Archangelica officinalis or Angelica archangelica) the leaf stalks of which are sometimes candied and used in confectionery, and the roots and seeds as an aromatic tonic.

2. The candied leaf stalks of angelica.

   Angelica tree, a thorny North American shrub ( Aralia spinosa), called also Hercules' club.

Aralia spinosa, commonly known as Devil's Walkingstick, is a woody species of plants in the genus Aralia, family Araliaceae, native to eastern North America. The various names refer to the viciously sharp, spiny stems, petioles, and even leaf midribs. It has also been known as Angelica-tree.

This species is sometimes called Hercules' Club, Prickly Ash, or Prickly Elder, common names it shares with the unrelated Zanthoxylum clava-herculis. For this reason, Aralia spinosa is sometimes confused with that species and mistakenly called the Toothache Tree, but it does not have the medicinal properties of Zanthoxylum clava-herculis.

Aralia spinosa is occasionally cultivated for its exotic, tropical appearance, having large lacy compound leaves. It is closely related to the Asian species Aralia elata, a more commonly cultivated species with which it is easily confused.