Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
13CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including KY
Genus host records with ranges including KY · Aralia
- Amorbia humerosanaWhite-Lined Leafroller Moth
- Apatelodes torrefactaSpotted Apatelodes
- Celastrina ladonSpring Azure
- Coelostathma discopunctanaThe Batman Moth
- Dichomeris juncidellaOrange-Dotted Dichomeris
- Ectropis crepusculariaThe Small Engrailed, Saddleback Looper
- Herpetogramma thestealisZigzag Herpetogramma, Subtle-Feathered Grass Moth
- Iridopsis defectariaBrown-Shaded Gray, Willow Looper
- Iridopsis ephyrariaPale-Winged Gray
- Machimia tentoriferellaGold-Striped Leaftier Moth
Show all 13
- Orthosia rubescensRuby Quaker
- Papaipema araliaeAralia Shoot Borer
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
13BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Aralia
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
6BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Aralia
- Hylocichla mustelinaWood Thrush
- Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
- Catharus minimus/bicknelliGray-cheeked/Bicknell's Thrush
- Catharus ustulatusSwainson's Thrush
- Pinicola enucleatorPine Grosbeak
- Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Araliaceae
- Flower color
- White
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Spreads by rhizomes
- Foliage color
- Dark green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Summer
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Late spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “White” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Foliage color · “Dark green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “About 1.5 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Leaf retention · “Deciduous” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team) · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “white” · USDA PLANTS
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Wild Sarsaparilla
Conservation status
| Kentucky rank | S2S3 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| KY status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
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Sources
- tnky_atlas
- usda
- nc_flora
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications