Devil's Club

Oplopanax horridus

ARALIACEAE

DESCRIPTION:  Devil's Club is a very distinctive plant.  The leaves are huge, often 18 inches wide, with tall petioles sprouting from the ends of long, spiny, recumbent stalks.  The spines cover the upright part of the stalk.  They are hard and sharp and can be up to 2 cm long, though most are shorter.  The smaller spines are like large prickles, but the larger ones are more like thorns.  The leaves also have a spiny surface, but here the spines are softer.  The stem spines will easily penetrate unprotected skin, the leaf spines will not.

  The stalks of older plants may lie on the ground for ten feet before turning erect to bear a cluster of leaves topped by flowers.  The flowers are small and greenish white, borne on a pyramidal panicle.  The berries are bright red and the size of Huckleberries, but seedy, mealy and unpalatable.  People consider them inedible, but bears are quite fond of them.

Stalks lying on the ground grow a different kind of bark than those standing upright.  The bark thickens and develops shallow, pale fissures.  The spines begin to fall off and rootlets begin to grow from any part of the stem in contact with moist ground.  There is also a rhizomatous root system with a harder pith and smoother, thicker, reddish bark. 

ECOLOGY AND RANGE: Devils Club grows in a variety of situations throughout BC (excepting the northern interior), depending on the climatic conditions and forest type. Wherever it grows, Devil’s Club is very much a deep woods plant.  It especially prefers shady creeks and moist bottomland and is an indicator species for a high level of soil moisture.  It often grows in thickets where its sprawling, recumbent growth form and large leaves dominate large areas.

Although widespread in the wetter parts of the Northwest, it is a slow growing perennial.  If you are brave enough to harvest Devils Club, please be respectful.

MEDICINAL USES: Devil's Club is hypoglycaemic, cathartic, emetic (in large doses), stomachic, analgesic, and diaphoretic.  It is an excellent expectorant and respiratory stimulant, increasing mucous secretions that soften congestion.  Rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune disorders often respond well to treatment with Devil’s Club, possibly because it, like Ginseng, helps to bring the whole system into balance. 

 It is a close cousin of Ginseng, containing many of the same and similar compounds, especially saponin glycosides known as ginsenosides or panaxosides.  The First Nations, who valued it highly, both as a medicine and for its ‘strong magical powers’, used it in a similar fashion to Ginseng.  Large amounts are reportedly intoxicating and often used in vision quests. Athletes have used Devil’s Club to promote endurance and some of these have noted intoxicating effects with the ingestion of larger amounts.  I myself have taken about 25ml of the tincture without observing any noticeable psychedelic or intoxicating effects.

 Devil’s Club is very nourishing to the pancreas and can stimulate healing of damaged tissue, as well as promoting better production and utilization of insulin.  It can be very helpful in treating of pancreatitis or general pancreatic insufficiency. Devil’s Club has a strong empirical and anecdotal history of use for treating adult onset, insulin resistant diabetes and, in some cases, has eliminated the need for insulin.  Modern practitioners have also used it to curb sugar cravings because it contains many glycosides or sugar-based chemicals.  It helps to balance blood sugar levels and can be used to treat both hyper and hypoglycaemia.  It also increases the capacity of skeletal muscle to oxidize free fatty acids in preference to glucose to produce cellular energy.

  It has been recommended by some herbalists to help normalize menses after childbirth, and to help relieve hot flashes.  It is also a good long-term therapy for arthritis and rheumatism.

HARVEST NOTES:  Devil’s Club varies slightly in its constituents through the seasons, being stronger in glycosides and phenols and probably stronger generally in the fall.  The spring roots are sweeter and preferred by Willard for treating adult onset diabetes. One must take extra caution with spring roots as they have a tendency to mould more easily.

Be cautious harvesting Devil's Club or you could end up full of prickles. When found in thickets it can be very difficult to move through, to say the least.  Its long sharp spines can cause painful wounds that easily become infected.  Wear long sleeves, gloves and thick clothing.  Always move through Devil’s Club following the lay of the stems.  Move slowly and gently, making as little disturbance as possible.

Look for a large, mature stand that has at least 1" diameter stems (they can get up to 2" or more).  Look for somewhere free of slash, rock, and debris.  The bark of the roots and rooted stems are the parts harvested.  Target root stems in the centre of the stand.  Pick an area large enough to work in, (at least 6' by 6').  Inside of this area carefully cut the prickly upper stems off the non-prickly root stems.  A small folding saw is great for this.  Replant the upper stem so that you bury at least 20” in the duff or upper soil layer.   Water the replanted stems if possible, unless the ground is saturated.

 Now that you have some room to work, pick a root stem and follow it carefully, using your gloved hands and a small shovel.  Take care not to break off and lose lateral branches or descending roots.  When you have taken all of the roots in your little area, try to return the forest floor to some semblance of its original state, and move on a very good distance before taking any more plants.  If there is a stream handy, you can wash and peel your roots there.  The roots are woody and cumbersome, so it is easier to process them near where you harvest them.

 Some First Nations Groups and herbalists also gather the stem bark.  I have no doubt that the stem bark has medicinal properties, but I doubt that they are the same as the properties of the root bark.  The two certainly don’t smell the same.  You can be your own judge. 

Peel and spread the bark to dry in baskets or on cardboard.  Dry the bark as quickly as possible as it moulds easily.