Devils Club (Oplopanax horridus)

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Chumono
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Of all the hostile native plants around here, this one is the weirdest and best. Dinosauric in appearance with medicinal qualities and a nice smell when chopped.
There is a sick satisfaction to be had popping the imbedded spines out of a clumsy hand…

Hopefully the leaves will reduce a bit. They tend to be giant.
 

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Cruiser

Chumono
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Imagine wiring that thing 💀
You’d need to be some kind of masochist!
Probably never will. The longer “tentacles” of growth can be bent but at a certain point become extremely brittle and break. The leaves and petioles get knocked of very easily as well…
I’ll probably go with clip n grow or guy wires once I get a better grasp on growth patterns.
 

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It’s alive.
1682214742637-jpeg.483920



The other plant is a little behind..
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The egg has hatched. The monster emerges.
 

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Last edited:

Cruiser

Chumono
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Now!

Wire...

Now!

🤓

(Really cool species, even cooler scientific name)

The spines haven’t hardened yet. The green tissue could probably be wired. I’m just not sure what to manipulate yet.
Those long stems are the petioles to the unfurling leaves. I think the apex and main “trunk” is between them.
 

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Devils club is an understory plant. It prefers shade and wet soils.
In the forest, its presence is often an indicator of wetness and/or a nearby stream.
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Oplopanax can spread vegetatively and usually does. This appears to be the preferred method of expansion, although it does flower. In older undisturbed places a few plants may become an expansive thicket. A sea of spiny tentacles.

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