Aralia californica - Angélique de Californie, Aralie de Californie

Aralia californica, the California aralia, is a large perennial for cool woodland whose leaves can reach up to two metres in length. Its thick stems produce an opulent clump each year, giving a luxuriant appearance to a cool, shaded spot in the garden. In summer, large branching inflorescences bear small greenish-white flowers, followed by purple-black fruits. This plant is suitable for large semi-shaded borders, for banks and for humus-rich soils that remain always slightly moist in summer.

The California aralia belongs to the family Araliaceae, like ivy, the fatsia and ginseng. Its botanical synonyms are Aralia californica var. acuminata and Aralia racemosa var. occidentalis. It grows naturally from Oregon to California, in the western United States. It is found along streams, in moist ravines and open forests, up to nearly 2000 m altitude. This plant seeks cool, sheltered places, often under the cover of conifers, maples or alders. It is a deciduous herbaceous perennial: its stems disappear at the end of autumn. The plant spends the winter underground in the form of a thick, fleshy rootstock, then produces new shoots in spring. A mature clump reaches 2 m in height and 1.50 to 2 m in width. It can exceed these dimensions in deep, humus-rich, well-watered soil. Its growth becomes rapid after the first few years. The stems, thick and initially erect, bend under the weight of the foliage. They bear very large pinnate or bipinnate leaves, divided into ovate to oblong leaflets. Each leaflet measures approximately 15 to 30 cm in length, its margin is dentate and its apex pointed. The central vein is well-marked. The whole forms a bright green foliage, less compact than that of a fatsia. In July and August, the stem tips bear branching inflorescences 30 to 45 cm in diameter. They consist of numerous spherical umbels, themselves made up of tiny greenish-white flowers. These flowers, visited by insects, are followed in late summer by small rounded berries. Initially red or purplish, they become dark violet to black as they ripen and are eaten by birds. In autumn, the stems may take on reddish shades before the foliage yellows and dries.
The English name elk clover means 'elk clover', although this plant has no botanical connection to clovers. It is said to refer to the large stands observed in cool places frequented by these animals.

The California aralia can occupy the back of a large shaded border, its foliage will be very ornamental there throughout the growing season. In front, you can plant Rodgersia pinnata ‘Chocolate Wings’ with bronze leaves and pink panicles and Actaea simplex ‘Pink Spike’ which takes over in late summer with its long pale pink spikes over dark foliage. The fern Dryopteris wallichiana ‘Jurassic Gold’ can be used to fill the base of its stems. Hakonechloa macra ‘Beni-Kaze’ is a Japanese grass which will form soft borders that turn red in autumn in front of the other plants.