spikenard, Aralia racemosa

A nice little ball of spikenard flowers? You should see the rest of the story. For that matter, so should I! This is a large, conspicuous, common plant of forests. It's very widespread. And I've never spotted it in the wild. It grows several feet tall with panicles of these balls of flowers that may be a foot long. There will be dozens of these umbels in an inflorescence. Makes a nice show for gardens. Extracts of spikenard have been prescribed for many ailments, mostly involving the head, neck or lungs, including phthisis. Spikenard grows in AL, AR, AZ, CO, CT, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, PA, RI(S), SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WI, WV, MB, NB, NS, ON, PE, and QC. Beal Gardens, MSU, 7/27/11. Aralia family, Araliaceae.