Spikenard Elk Clover

Elk Clover is an energetic plant creating drama in the garden with its bold form, huge leaves, attractive spikes of white flowers and its warm creamy yellow foliage and wine coloured streaked stems add unexpected punch to the fall garden.
Aralia californica’s very large green leaves are compound with 3-5 leaflets between 6 – 12 inches long.
Stalks of small white roundish clusters of star shaped flowers begin blooming in late spring to early summer, though more often from June to August or even October when grown in deeper shade. The flowers are sticky.
The fruit of Elk Clover is round, dark purple to black and only about 1/4 inch in diameter.
The buttery yellow autumn foliage is beautifully contrasted to the wine-coloured streaks which appear along the large stems. In true perennial fashion, this native dies to the ground each fall, only to return the next spring.
Found in moist and shady spots, Aralia californica establishes naturally in many plant communities from southwest Oregon to western and central Californica, wherever it finds cooler, moister areas. Common neighborhoods are yellow pine forest, foothill woodland, chaparral, valley grassland, and wetland-riparian communities. It is especially prolific in the San Francisco Bay area of California.
Spikenard tolerates sand, clay, serpentine and seasonal flooding. as long as there is regular water. Typically, Elk Clover selects moist shady areas, streamsides, or canyons at elevations below 6,500 feet.