{{short description|Species of plant}} {{Speciesbox | image = Aralia elata en fleur4081.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref>Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) & IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group. 2018. ''Aralia elata''. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T135795730A135795732. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T135795730A135795732.en. Accessed on 24 October 2024.</ref> | genus = Aralia | species = elata | authority = (Miq.) Seem., 1868 }}
'''''Aralia elata''''', also known as the '''Japanese angelica tree''',<ref name = RHSPF>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/1453/Aralia-elata/Details | title = ''Angelica elata'' | website = www.rhs.org | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | accessdate = 5 May 2020}}</ref> '''Chinese angelica-tree''',<ref name="GRIN">{{GRIN}}</ref> or '''Korean angelica-tree''',<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.forest.go.kr/kna/special/download/English_Names_for_Korean_Native_Plants.pdf |title=English Names for Korean Native Plants |last=Korea National Arboretum |publisher=National Arboretum |year=2015 |isbn=978-89-97450-98-5 |location=Pocheon |pages=357 |access-date=6 December 2016 |via=Korea Forest Service |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525105020/http://www.forest.go.kr/kna/special/download/English_Names_for_Korean_Native_Plants.pdf |archivedate=25 May 2017 }}</ref> is a species of woody plant in the family Araliaceae native to eastern Asia (in Russia, China, Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan).
==Description== It is an upright deciduous small tree or shrub growing up to {{convert|10|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in height.<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Aralia elata''|url=http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=156|accessdate=29 May 2013}}</ref>
The bark is rough and gray with prickles. The leaves are alternate, large, 60–120 cm long, and double pinnate. The flowers are produced in large umbels in late summer, each flower small and white. The fruit is a small black drupe.
''Aralia elata'' is closely related to the American species ''Aralia spinosa'', with which it is easily confused. ''A. elata'' can be differentiated by having its inflorescence on a horizontal axis.
==Cultivation== ''Aralia elata'' is cultivated, often in a variegated form, for its exotic appearance. It prefers deep loamy soils in partial shade, but will grow in poorer soils and in full sun. The cultivars 'Variegata'<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/92355/Aralia-elata-Variegata-(v)/Details | title = ''Aralia elata'' 'Variegata' | publisher = RHS | accessdate = 12 April 2020}}</ref> and 'Aureovariegata'<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/99232/Aralia-elata-Aureovariegata-(v)/Details | title = ''Aralia elata'' 'Aureovariegata' | publisher = RHS | accessdate = 12 April 2020}}</ref> have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
== Culinary uses ==
=== Japan === thumb In Japan, the shoots are eaten in the spring. They are picked from the end of the branches and are commonly fried in a tempura batter.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brussell |first=David Eric |date=2004 |title=Araliaceae Species Used for Culinary and Medicinal Purposes in Niigata-Ken, Japan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4256887 |journal=Economic Botany |volume=58 |issue=4 |pages=736–739 |doi=10.1663/0013-0001(2004)058[0736:ASUFCA]2.0.CO;2 |jstor=4256887 |issn=0013-0001|url-access=subscription }}</ref> They can also be blanched or stir fried, among other methods.
=== Korea === thumb In Korea, young shoots are harvested during a month, from early April to early May, when they are soft and fragrant. In Korean cuisine, the shoots are commonly eaten blanched, pickled, pan-fried, or deep-fried.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hong |first1=Jungha |last2=Gruda |first2=Nazim S. |date=2020 |title=The Potential of Introduction of Asian Vegetables in Europe |journal=Horticulturae |language=en |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=38 |doi=10.3390/horticulturae6030038 |doi-access=free |issn=2311-7524}}</ref>
<gallery> File:Dureup-sukhoe.jpg|Blanched angelica-tree shoot File:Korean cuisine-Dureup bugak and Chal jeonbyeong.jpg|Angelica-tree shoot fritter and glutinous rice pancake File:Dureup-gaji-jeon.jpg|Pan-fried angelica-tree shoot and eggplant File:Dureup-jeon 2.jpg|Pan-fried angelica-tree shoot File:Sungeo-dureup-doenjang-mayo-muchim.jpg|Mullet and angelica-tree shoot salad with soybean paste and mayonnaise dressing </gallery>
==Invasive species== thumb|''Aralia elata'' in the vicinity of Philadelphia, PA. The tree was introduced into the United States in 1830. Birds like to eat the fruits, and are spreading its seeds, allowing the tree to expand its range as an invasive species in the northeastern United States.<ref>[http://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile?symbol=arel8 U.S. Dept. of Agriculture: Map of distribution in U.S. and Canada]</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q284736}} {{Authority control}}
elata Category:Flora of China Category:Flora of Eastern Asia Category:Flora of the Russian Far East Category:Edible plants Category:Leaf vegetables *Aralia cordata Category:Korean vegetables Category:Taxa named by Berthold Carl Seemann