Castor Aralia

Description

Upright-oval and gaunt when young, reaching 40'-60' in cultivation and becoming oval-rounded and massive in outline. Bark on young stems armed with stout, broad-based yellowish prickles, bark on mature trunk blackish, deeply ridged and furrowed. Flowers perfect, white, produced in numerous 1"-diameter umbels that are held in a large-flattish terminal umbellose panicle, 12"-24" across, effective in June & July. Fruit a 1/6" diameter black drupe ripening in Sept.-Oct., soon devoured by birds. Fall color yellow or red, not outstanding.