Wild Sarsaparilla
Aralia nudicaulis
Pollinator plant

(c) Homer Edward Price, some rights reserved (CC BY)
Growing it
| When | Flowers in June; fruits August to September |
|---|---|
| Type | herb |
| Sun | Partial shade, full shade |
| Water | Low, medium |
| Soil | pH 5–6.5 |
| Hardiness | zone 2–6 |
| Mature height | 0.4 m |
| Mature spread | 0.6 m |
| Spacing | 0.4 m |
| Years to maturity | 3 |
| Bloom | Jun |
| In bloom | June |
| Fruit | Aug–Sep |
| Native to | AB, SK |
feather-compound leaves about 30 cm long
Where it has been recorded
Which ecoregions the records fall in
- Aspen Parkland central AB / SK: 968 records, high confidence
- Boreal Transition central AB / SK: 295 records, high confidence
- Mid-Boreal Uplands central AB / SK: 256 records, high confidence
- Western Alberta Upland central AB: 163 records, high confidence
- Moist Mixed Grassland south AB / SK: 118 records, high confidence
- Peace Lowland north AB: 61 records, high confidence
- Wabasca Lowland north AB: 48 records, high confidence
- Cypress Upland south AB / SK: 43 records, high confidence
- Eastern Continental Ranges central AB: 15 records, medium confidence
- Churchill River Upland north SK: 11 records, medium confidence
- Slave River Lowland north AB: 11 records, medium confidence
- Western Boreal central AB: 10 records, medium confidence
- Mixed Grassland south AB / SK: 4 records, low confidence
These are counts of records collected somewhere in the region, which is the resolution of the evidence: the map above shows where inside it. A region with 3 records is not the same claim as one with three hundred, so the count travels with the region. A region missing from this list means nobody has recorded it there, which is not the same as the plant being absent. Records within 900 m of a border count for neither side, because the border is not drawn finely enough to say which one they are on. Source: GBIF occurrence search + PRESERVED_SPECIMEN pass, retrieved 2026-08-24. Boundaries digitised from the National Ecological Framework for Canada v2.2 (Ecological Stratification Working Group 1995), simplified to about 900 m for display: an outline is accurate to roughly a kilometre, not to the metre. How these counts are made.
See every observation, live and current, on GBIF or iNaturalist.
Documented animals
11 documented relationships.
pollen for
- Andrena w-scripta Barrett & K. Helenurm 1987
- Andrena wheeleri Barrett & K. Helenurm 1987
- Confusing Bumble Bee Barrett & K. Helenurm 1987
- Eusphalerum pothos Barrett & K. Helenurm 1987
- Half-black Bumble Bee Barrett & K. Helenurm 1987
- Lasioglossum cressonii Barrett & K. Helenurm 1987
- Lasioglossum quebecense Barrett & K. Helenurm 1987
- Mallota posticata Barrett & K. Helenurm 1987
- Orange-legged Furrow Bee Barrett & K. Helenurm 1987
- Trachysida aspera Barrett & K. Helenurm 1987
- Yellow-banded Bumble Bee Barrett & K. Helenurm 1987
Also worth knowing
Safety
Toxicity not assessed, absence of a warning is not a guarantee of safety
Edible parts
Roots
Buying it
About $8–$16 per plant (estimate), usually from a native-plant nursery. Estimate (herb default); AB retail as of 2026