Elk's Clover, Aralia californica

About Elk's Clover (Aralia californica) 29 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Aralia californica, known by the common name elk clover though not actually a clover, is a large herb in the family Araliaceae, the only member of that family native to California and southwestern Oregon. It is a deciduous herbaceous perennial plant growing to a height of 2-3 meters on stems which are thick but not woody. The stems bear large green pinnate or bipinnate leaves 1-2 meters long and 1 meter broad, the leaflets 15-30 centimeter long and 7-15 centimeter broad. The greenish white flowers are produced in large, ball-shaped compound umbels 30-45 centimeter diameter at the stem tip; each star-shaped flower is 2-3 millimeter diameter, and matures to small (3-5 millimeter) dark purple or black fruit, each berry containing 3-5 seeds. This plant performs best under trees or in other moist, shady areas.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Perennial herb

Size

6.6 - 10 ft tall
10 ft wide

Dormancy

Winter Deciduous

Flower Color

White, Green

Flowering Season

Summer, Fall

Wildlife Supported

Birds are attracted to the fruits
Bee gardens

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 3 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Omnivorous Looper Sabulodes aegrotataSabulodes aegrotata

Satyr Pug Eupithecia satyrataEupithecia satyrata

Epermenia californicaEpermenia californica

Landscaping Information

Sun

Shade, Part Shade

Moisture

Moderate - High

Summer Irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 29

Ease of Care

Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 5° F

Soil Drainage

Medium

Soil Description

Tolerates a variety of soils. Tolerates Serpentine Soil. Soil PH: 4.0 - 7.0

Common uses

Deer Resistant, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants

Use under trees such as Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), Firs (Abies sp.), Maples (Acer sp.), Pines (Pinus sp.), Bay Laurel (Umbellularia californica), Chinquapin (Chrysolepis chrysophylla or sempervirens), and Tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus), along with other shade-loving and moisture loving plants such as native ferns, Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum), Columbine (Aquilegia formosa), Chinese Houses (Collinsia heterophylla), Larkspur (Delphinium sp.), Bleeding Heart, and Bigflower Tellima (Tellima grandiflora).

Propagation?

For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Sunset Zones?

3, 4, 5*, 7*, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16*, 17*, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23

Natural Setting

Site Type

Moist forested canyons, streamsides

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 5.0" - 133.4", Summer Precipitation: 0.21" - 3.85", Coldest Month: 33.5" - 53.6", Hottest Month: 56.2" - 80.5", Humidity: 0.01" - 32.30", Elevation: 25" - 7419"

Alternative Names

Common Names: California Spikenard, Elk Clover, Elkclover

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Elk's Clover

Aralia californica

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Elk's CloverAralia californica

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Elk's Clover

Aralia californica