Eleutherococcus sieboldianus

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves

Young leaves are edible when cooked, offering a delicious and somewhat fragrant flavour. The dried leaves can also be used as a tea substitute.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It grows on well drained poor soil in the sun. It suits hardiness zones 4-9.

Asia, Australia, Britain, China, Europe, Japan, Korea,

How to Identify

A shrub. It grows 3 m high. It spreads 2.5 m wide. The branches are slender and arching. The flowers are greenish-white and occur in single heads. The fruit are black and 8 mm across.

How to Grow

Propagation: Seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in autumn in a cold frame, though germination can be slow. Stored seed requires 6 months of warm stratification followed by 3 months of cold stratification, and may also be very slow to germinate. Prick seedlings out into individual pots when large enough to handle, then grow on in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse for at least the first winter before planting out in late spring or early summer. Other options include half-ripe wood cuttings in July/August in a frame, ripe wood cuttings of the current season's growth at 15–30cm long in a cold frame, root cuttings in late winter, or division of suckers during the dormant season.

Medicinal Uses

None known

Other Uses

The plant can be used as a hedge.

Eleutherococcus sieboldianus, the five-fingered aralia or fiveleaf aralia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It is native to Anhui province in China, and has been introduced to Korea, Japan and the United States. A variegated form is available which only reaches 8 ft (2.4 m).

More from Araliaceae

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Aralia caesia

Aralia chinensis

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Aralia cordata

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Aralia cordata var. sachalinensis

Sakhalin spikenard