  
 
Aralia or spikenard, is a genus of the family Araliaceae, consisting of 68 accepted species of deciduous or evergreen trees, shrubs, and rhizomatous herbaceous perennials. The genus is native to Asia and the Americas, with most species occurring in mountain woodlands. Aralia plants vary in size, with some herbaceous species only reaching 50cm tall, while some are trees growing to 20m tall. Aralia plants have large bipinnate (doubly compound) leaves clustered at the ends of their stems or branches; in some species the leaves are covered with bristles.   
 Aralia elata commonly known as Japanese Angelica Tree is a small deciduous tree that bears clusters of cream colored blossoms during summertime. The sprouts are cooked and eaten in some Asian cuisines like Japanese and Korean. It is an upright tree or shrub growing up to 10 m in height, native to eastern Russia, China, Korea, and Japan. It prefers deep loamy soils in partial shade, but will grow in poorer soils and in full sun. The plant is sometimes cultivated, often in a variegated form, for its exotic appearance. 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 an edible plant and is closely related to the American species Aralia spinosa, with which it is easily confused. In Japan, the young leaf shoots (taranome) are eaten in the spring. They are picked from the end of the branches and are fried in a tempura batter. In Korean cuisine, its shoots called dureup are used for various dishes, such as dureup jeon, that is a variety of jeon (pancake-like dish) made by pan-frying the shoots covered with minced beef and batter.
   
  
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