View source for Aralia

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image = Aralia elata en fleur4081.jpg
|image_caption = ''[[Aralia elata]]''
|taxon = Aralia
|authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision = 
|synonyms = *''Acanthophora'' <small>[[Elmer Drew Merrill|Merr.]]</small>
*''Coemansia'' <small>[[Élie Marchal|Marchal]]</small>
*''Coudenbergia'' <small>[[Élie Marchal|Marchal]]</small>
*''Cwangayana'' <small>[[Stephan Rauschert|Rauschert]]</small>
*''Dimorphanthus'' <small>[[Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel|Miq.]]</small>
*''Neoacanthophora'' <small>[[Sigamony Stephen Richard Bennet|Bennet]]</small>
*''Parapentapanax'' <small>[[Hutch.]]</small>
*''Pentapanax'' <small>[[Berthold Carl Seemann|Seem.]]</small> (probably)
|type_species = ''[[Aralia racemosa]]''
}}

'''''Aralia''''' {{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|r|eɪ|l|i|ə}},<ref>''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607</ref> or '''spikenard''', is a [[genus]] of the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Araliaceae]], consisting of 68 accepted [[species]] of [[deciduous]] or [[evergreen]] [[tree]]s, [[shrub]]s, and [[rhizome|rhizomatous]] [[herbaceous plant|herbaceous]] [[perennial plant|perennial]]s. The genus is [[native plant|native]] to Asia and the Americas, with most species occurring in mountain woodlands. ''Aralia'' plants vary in size, with some herbaceous species only reaching {{convert|50|cm|in}} tall, while some are trees growing to {{convert|20|m|ft}} tall.

''Aralia'' plants have large [[pinnate|bipinnate (doubly compound)]] leaves clustered at the ends of their stems or branches; in some species the leaves are covered with bristles. The stems of some woody species are quite prickly, as in ''[[Aralia spinosa]]''.  The [[flower]]s are whitish or greenish occurring in terminal [[panicle]]s, and the spherical dark purple berry-like [[fruit]]s are popular with [[bird]]s.

''Aralia'' species are used as food plants by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species, including the [[common emerald]] (''Hemithea aestivaria''). There are many colours of aralia flowers. The main flower is whitish aralia.

Some species, notably ''[[Aralia cordata]]'', are edible and are cultivated for human consumption.

[[Image:Aralia spinosa, Georgia, USA.jpg|right|thumb|''[[Aralia spinosa]]'']]

==Taxonomy==
The taxonomic circumscription of the [[genus]] ''Aralia'' has varied greatly.  Species formerly included in wider views of the genus are now included in such separate genera as ''[[Fatsia]]'', ''[[Macropanax]]'', ''[[Oreopanax]]'', ''[[Panax]]'', ''[[Polyscias]]'', ''[[Pseudopanax]]'', ''[[Schefflera]]'', and ''[[Tetrapanax]]''.

The genus ''Dimorphanthus'', formerly considered distinct by some, is now included within ''Aralia'' as a section within that genus.

===Species===
{{As of|2021|May}}, [[Plants of the World Online]] accepted the following species:<ref name="POWO_30023289-2">{{cite POWO |title=''Aralia'' L. |id=30023289-2 |access-date=2021-05-22 }}</ref>
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
*''[[Aralia apioides]]'' <small>Hand.-Mazz.</small>
*''[[Aralia armata]]'' <small>(Wall. ex G.Don) Seem.</small>
*''[[Aralia atropurpurea]]'' <small>Franch.</small>
*''[[Aralia bahiana]]'' <small>J.Wen</small>
*''[[Aralia bicrenata]]'' <small>Wooton & Standl.</small>
*''[[Aralia bipinnata]]'' <small>Blanco</small>
*''[[Aralia cachemirica]]'' <small>Decne.</small>
*''[[Aralia caesia]]'' <small>Hand.-Mazz.</small>
*''[[Aralia californica]]'' <small>S.Watson</small>
*''[[Aralia castanopsicola]]'' <small>(Hayata) J.Wen</small>
*''[[Aralia chinensis]]'' <small>L.</small>
*''[[Aralia continentalis]]'' <small>Kitag.</small>
*''[[Aralia cordata]]'' <small>Thunb.</small>
*''[[Aralia dasyphylla]]'' <small>Miq.</small>
*''[[Aralia dasyphylloides]]'' <small>(Hand.-Mazz.) J.Wen</small>
*''[[Aralia debilis]]'' <small>J.Wen</small>
*''[[Aralia decaisneana]]'' <small>Hance</small>
*''[[Aralia delavayi]]'' <small>J.Wen</small>
*''[[Aralia devendrae]]'' <small>Pusalkar</small>
*''[[Aralia duplex]]'' <small>R.Chaves</small>
*''[[Aralia echinocaulis]]'' <small>Hand.-Mazz.</small>
*''[[Aralia elata]]'' <small>(Miq.) Seem.</small>
*''[[Aralia excelsa]]'' <small>(Griseb.) J.Wen</small>
*''[[Aralia fargesii]]'' <small>Franch.</small>
*''[[Aralia ferox]]'' <small>Miq.</small>
*''[[Aralia finlaysoniana]]'' <small>(Wall. ex G.Don) Seem.</small>
*''[[Aralia foliolosa]]'' <small>Seem. ex C.B.Clarke</small>
*''[[Aralia frodiniana]]'' <small>J.Wen</small>
*''[[Aralia gigantea]]'' <small>J.Wen</small>
*''[[Aralia gintungensis]]'' <small>C.Y.Wu ex K.M.Feng</small>
*''[[Aralia glabra]]'' <small>Matsum.</small>
*''[[Aralia glabrifoliolata]]'' <small>(C.B.Shang) J.Wen</small>
*''[[Aralia henryi]]'' <small>Harms</small>
*''[[Aralia hiepiana]]'' <small>J.Wen & Lowry</small>
*''[[Aralia hispida]]'' <small>Vent.</small>
*''[[Aralia humilis]]'' <small>Cav.</small>
*''[[Aralia hypoglauca]]'' <small>(C.J.Qi & T.R.Cao) J.Wen & Y.F.Deng</small>
*''[[Aralia indonesica]]'' <small>Doweld</small>
*''[[Aralia kansuensis]]'' <small>G.Hoo</small>
*''[[Aralia kingdon-wardii]]'' <small>J.Wen, Lowry & Esser</small>
*''[[Aralia leschenaultii]]'' <small>(DC.) J.Wen</small>
*''[[Aralia malabarica]]'' <small>Bedd.</small>
*''[[Aralia melanocarpa]]'' <small>(H.Lév.) Lauener</small>
*''[[Aralia merrillii]]'' <small>C.B.Shang</small>
*''[[Aralia mexicana]]'' <small>(C.B.Shang & X.P.Li) Frodin</small>
*''[[Aralia montana]]'' <small>Blume</small>
*''[[Aralia nudicaulis]]'' <small>L.</small>
*''[[Aralia officinalis]]'' <small>Z.Z.Wang</small>
*''[[Aralia parasitica]]'' <small>(D.Don) Buch.-Ham. ex Otto</small>
*''[[Aralia plumosa]]'' <small>H.L.Li</small>
*''[[Aralia racemosa]]'' <small>L.</small>
*''[[Aralia regeliana]]'' <small>Marchal</small>
*''[[Aralia rex]]'' <small>(Ekman) J.Wen</small>
*''[[Aralia scaberula]]'' <small>G.Hoo</small>
*''[[Aralia scopulorum]]'' <small>Brandegee</small>
*''[[Aralia searelliana]]'' <small>Dunn</small>
*''[[Aralia soratensis]]'' <small>Marchal</small>
*''[[Aralia spinifolia]]'' <small>Merr.</small>
*''[[Aralia spinosa]]'' <small>L.</small>
*''[[Aralia stellata]]'' <small>(King) J.Wen</small>
*''[[Aralia stipulata]]'' <small>Franch.</small>
*''[[Aralia subcordata]]'' <small>(Wall. ex G.Don) J.Wen</small>
*''[[Aralia thomsonii]]'' <small>Seem. ex C.B.Clarke</small>
*''[[Aralia tibetana]]'' <small>G.Hoo</small>
*''[[Aralia tomentella]]'' <small>Franch.</small>
*''[[Aralia undulata]]'' <small>Hand.-Mazz.</small>
*''[[Aralia urticifolia]]'' <small>Blume ex Miq.</small>
*''[[Aralia verticillata]]'' <small>(Dunn) J.Wen</small>
*''[[Aralia vietnamensis]]'' <small>Ha</small>
*''[[Aralia wangshanensis]]'' <small>(W.C.Cheng) Y.F.Deng</small>
*''[[Aralia warmingiana]]'' <small>(Marchal) J.Wen</small>
*''[[Aralia wilsonii]]'' <small>Harms</small>
*''[[Aralia yunnanensis]]'' <small>Franch.</small>
{{Div col end}}

==Fossil record==
One [[fossil]] [[endocarp]] of †''Aralia pusilla'' has been described from a [[middle Miocene]] [[stratum]] of the Fasterholt area near [[Silkeborg]] in Central [[Jutland]], [[Denmark]].<ref>Angiosperm Fruits and Seeds from the Middle Miocene of Jutland (Denmark) by [[Else Marie Friis]], The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters 24:3, 1985</ref> Several  [[fossil]] fruits of ''Aralia rugosa'' and †''Aralia tertiaria'' have been extracted from bore hole samples of the [[Middle Miocene]] fresh water deposits in [[Nowy Sacz]] Basin, [[West Carpathians]], [[Poland]].<ref>Łańcucka-Środoniowa M.: Macroscopic plant remains from the freshwater Miocene of the Nowy Sącz Basin (West Carpathians, Poland) [Szczątki makroskopowe roślin z miocenu słodkowodnego Kotliny Sądeckiej (Karpaty Zachodnie, Polska)]. Acta Palaeobotanica 1979 20 (1): 3-117.</ref> Several ''Aralia'' macrofossils have been recovered from the late [[Zanclean]] stage of [[Pliocene]] sites in [[Pocapaglia]], [[Italy]].<ref>Messian to Zanclean vegetation and climate  of Northern and Central Italy by Adele Bertini & Edoardo Martinetto, Bollettino della Societa Paleontologica 	Italiana, 47 (2), 2008, 105-121. Modena, 11 July 2008.</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*Frodin, D. G. and R. Govaerts. 2003. World Checklist and Bibliography of Araliaceae. Kew, UK: The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
*Wen, J. 2004. Systematics and biogeography of ''Aralia'' L. sect. ''Dimorphanthus'' (Miq.) Miq. (Araliaceae). ''Cathaya'' 15-16: 1–187.

==External links==
{{Commons}}
*[http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Aralia.html Sorting ''Aralia'' names]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q132636}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Aralia| ]]
[[Category:Apiales genera]]