Scientific Name: Aralia Racemosa Origin: United States
Common Names: Spikenard, American spikenard, Indian nard, Life-of-man, Pettymorrel, Spiceberry, Spignet, Spikenard, Syrian nard.
Part used: Root
Active Compounds: Resin, Tannin, Acid, Albumen, Mucilage, and Cellulose.
Background: Aralia racemosa shares the name spikenard with other plants; most are unrelated, as is Nardostachys grandiflora and spikenard.
Its family, Araliaceae, includes the ginsengs. Among tribes of eastern North America spikenard has been used for centuries.
Description: This native North American perennial has herbaceous, widely branched, smooth stems, 3 or 4 feet tall. Leaves are dark-green or reddish, sprout from a thick, fleshy, aromatic root. Leaves are decompound with three-part leaf-stalks, each bearing 3 or 5 large, ovate, pointed, serrate, slightly downy leaflets. The umbels are numerous, small, arranged in branching racemes from axils of leaves or branches, with small greenish-white flowers, succeeded by dark-purple berries in large clusters. Roots are harvested in autumn as ripened berries and leaves begin to fade. Plant produces berries when root is mature, often in its 5th year. A delicate plant, Aralia is subject to habitat encroachment.
Safety: There is no known negative safety information for this herb.
For educational purposes only This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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