Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Castor Aralia - Kalopanax septemlobus   (Thunberg ex A. Murray) Koidzumi
Members of Araliaceae:
Only member of Kalopanax in NC.
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Section 6 » Family Araliaceae
Author(Thunberg ex A. Murray) Koidzumi
DistributionRecently escaped from amature planted tree in the Coker Arboretum in Chapel Hill (Orange County), collected in 2022 (NCU). Many seedlings are in this area now, fide arboretum curators.

"Native of e. Asia. Introduced in ne. United States, apparently naturalizing in s. MD and n. VA" (Weakley 2022a).
AbundanceVery rare, but expected to be found escaping in other places in the state.
HabitatDisturbed areas, so far only close to a mature planted tree.
Phenology"[flowering] Jul-early Aug; [fruiting] Aug-early Sep" (Weakley 2022a).
IdentificationA tree with 5-7-lobed leaves, and branches armed with prickles.
Taxonomic CommentsNone

Other Common Name(s)Tree Aralia
State RankSE
Global RankGNR
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USACE-agcp
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