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• Apiaceae
• Eleutherococcus
• Eleutherococcus pentaphyllus

Eleutherococcus pentaphyllus — five-leaved-aralia

Facts

Five-leaved-aralia is an exotic shrub typically found in swampy areas. Beware its small thorns, which are paired at the leaf axils along a blue-green (glaucous) stem. It also goes by the erroneous common name, "ginseng" because its palmate, five-parted compound leaves loosely resemble those of ginseng.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges, shrublands or thickets

Characteristics

• Buds or leaf scars

  Bud scale number

  there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed

  Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)

  NA

  Collateral buds

  there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches

  Leaf scar arrangement

  there is one leaf scar per node on the stem or twig

  Winter bud shape

  the winter buds are ovoid (egg-shaped)

• Flowers

  Carpels fused

  the carpels are fused to one another

  Enlarged sterile flowers

  there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant

  Flower petal color

  • white
  • yellow or green

  Flower symmetry

  there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)

  Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)

  NA

  Hypanthium present

  the flower does not have a hypanthium

  Inflorescence type

  the inflorescence is an umbel (with an axis so short it appears the flowers all originate from the same point)

  Number of pistils

  1

  Ovary position

  the ovary is below the point of petal and/or sepal attachment

  Petal and sepal arrangement

  the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures

  Petal appearance

  the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)

  Petal fusion

  the perianth parts are separate

  Sepal cilia (Ilex)

  NA

  Sepal tip glands

  there are no glands at the tips of the sepal lobes

  Stamen number

  5

  Stamen position relative to petals

  the stamens are lined up with the petals (antepetalous)

  Stamens fused

  the stamens are not fused to one another

• Fruits or seeds

  Berry color

  black

  Fruit tissue origin

  there are no flower parts that form part of the fruit

  Fruit type (general)

  the fruit is fleshy

  Fruit type (specific)

  the fruit is a drupe (fleshy, with a firm inner ovary wall that encloses a single seed)

  Nut with spines (Fagaceae)

  NA

  Wings on fruit

  there are no wings on the fruit

• Glands or sap

  Sap color

  the sap is clear and watery

  Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)

  NA

• Growth form

  Growth form

  the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)

• Leaves

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  the underside of the leaf has no hairs

  Hairs on upper side of leaf blade

  the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Leaf blade base shape

  the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow

  Leaf blade bloom

  the underside of the leaf has no noticeable bloom

  Leaf blade edges

  the edge of the leaf blade has teeth

  Leaf blade edges (Acer)

  NA

  Leaf blade flatness

  • the edges of the leaf are curled under
  • the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges

  Leaf blade hairs

  NA

  Leaf blade scales

  there are no scales on the leaf blades

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is oblong (rectangular but with rounded ends)
  • the leaf blade is obovate (egg-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)

  Leaf blade texture

  the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)

  Leaf blade translucent dots

  there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade

  Leaf blade vein pattern

  the main veins of the leaf blade are pinnate (the secondary veins branch off at intervals from the main central vein) and non-arcuate (not arched towards the leaf tip)

  Leaf blade veins

  the leaf blade has one main vein running from the base toward the tip

  Leaf duration

  the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)

  Leaf form

  the plant is broad-leaved (with broadly flattened leaf blades)

  Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)

  NA

  Leaf stalk

  the leaves have leaf stalks

  Leaf stalk attachment to leaf

  the petiole attaches at the basal margin of the leaf blade

  Leaf stalk nectaries

  there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk

  Leaf stalk shape

  the leaf stalk is not flattened

  Leaf teeth

  • the leaf blade margin is crenate (with rounded teeth) or crenulate (with tiny, rounded teeth)
  • the leaf blade margin is serrate (with forward-pointing) or dentate (with outward-pointing) with medium-sized to coarse teeth

  Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)

  NA

  Leaf type

  the leaf blade is compound (i.e., made up of two or more discrete leaflets

  Leaves per node

  there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Specific leaf type

  the leaf is palmately compound with more than three leaflets

  Stipules

  there are no stipules on the plant, or they fall off as the leaf expands

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Massachusetts

  Specific habitat

  • edges of forests
  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • shrublands or thickets

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Aerial roots

  the plant has no aerial roots

  Bark texture

  the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth

  Branch brittleness (willows only)

  NA

  Branch cross-section

  the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles

  First-year cane (Rubus)

  NA

  Short shoots

  there are peg- or knob-like shoots present

  Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)

  NA

  Twig scales

  there are no scales on the twig surface

  Twig winter color

  brown

  Wings on branch

  the branch does not have wings on it

  armature on plant

  • the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
  • the plant has spines, prickles, or thorns

Wetland status

Not classified

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae