Manchurian Angelica Tree (Aralia mandschurica)

Taxonomy and growth

Family: Araliaceae
Genus: Aralia
Life cycle: perennial
Foliage: deciduous
Woodiness: woody
Height: 3.5 m
Fertility: Insects
Flower type: hermaphrodite
Pollinators: Insects

Uses

Edible uses

Young shoots - cooked. They can also be blanched and used in salads.

Plant part: Leaves

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

Anodyne, carminative. The root, and especially the bark, stimulates the central nervous system^[3]. The plant is said to restore the appetite, memory, vigour etc^[3].

Product or use: Anodyne

Product or use: Carminative

Product or use: Tonic

Environment

Range: E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea, Manchuria.
Habitat: Forests on rich well moistened slopes, 900 - 2000 metres in N. Hupeh. Thickets and thin woods in lowland and hills in Japan^[4].
Light: full sun
Shade tolerance: light shade
Water: moderate
Hardiness: Zone 4+
Soil textures: sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH: acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage: well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil: No
Drought: intolerant

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 3 - 5 months of cold stratification. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 4 months at 20°c^[2]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse for at least their first winter. Once the plants are 25cm or more tall, they can be planted out into their permanent positions, late spring or early summer being the best time to do this. Root cuttings 8cm long, December in a cold frame^[1]^[5]. Store the roots upside down in sand and pot up in March/April. High percentage^[5]. Division of suckers in late winter^[1]. Very easy, the suckers can be planted out direct into their permanent positions if required.

Cultivation

Prefers a good deep loam and a position in semi-shade. Requires a sheltered position. Plants are hardier when grown on poorer soils. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun[K]. This plant is very closely related to A. elata and is included in that species by many botanists^[4].

Aralia chinensisChinese Angelica Tree
Aralia continentalisManchurian Spikenard
Aralia cordataUdo
Aralia elataJapanese Angelica Tree

References

Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981-00-00
↩1 ↩2
Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988-00-00
↩
Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
↩1 ↩2
Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965-00-00
↩1 ↩2
Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948-00-00
↩1 ↩2