If you’ve read About Me, you probably got how some of my fondest memories of childhood are set in the woods, specifically the woods behind my family’s home in Mississippi. Those woods are the source of my fascination with plants, and I daresay where I first botanized. (Yes, I botanized as a child. You’d think I’d have gotten into this line of work before 30.)

Reflecting on those woods, I’m amazed at the communities of unique plants there. I’m sure it’s also where my interest in obscure plants stems from, and it’s those members of the plant world I’ll discuss here: the unique, the underrated but no less useful.

First up, the dramatically named devil’s walkingstick, Aralia spinosa. Grew thick as thieves in the understory immediately behind our house, but it’s native to the whole Eastern U.S.

I never thought I’d miss them, but know what? Devil’s walkingstick is gorgeous. It grows tall in the shade among tree roots. Obviously it’s a native. It takes urban conditions. It’s drought tolerant and pest free. It looks tropical, its flowers are interesting, and there’s nothing like those big drupes when it’s fruiting.

The Asian species analogous to DWS is Aralia elata and its cultivars, like ‘Silver Umbrellas’ and ‘Aureovariegata,’ which gets face time in Tracy DiSabato-Aust’s new book. And how could you not love that face? All perfectly hardy, and I’m hoping great for a variety of uses: screening, tall things for shade, wildlife, and the list goes on.

Join me in saluting the humble, overlooked devil’s walkingstick, and ask your local nursery for them. Supposedly they’re hard to propagate, and that’s one reason they’re less common in the trade.

Photos from MOBOT and Arboretum Zampach.