I showed you the Devil's Walking Stick last month, in bloom.  

 

Now those blossoms have done their job, and the trees are fruiting.  

 

All I really said about it was that it has a nasty thorny trunk.  Let's learn more about it.  

 

Its botanical name is Aralia spinosa, in the family Araliaceae.  Other trees, shrubs, vines in this family include Sarsaparilla, Ginseng, and English Ivy.   Aralia spinosa is also commonly called Hercules-Club.  They grow in woods and on riverbanks from southern New England to Michigan, and from eastern Texas to north Florida.  We've seen them all along the roadsides in our travels to Atlanta and Chattanooga, and my sister in Yorktown, VA has seen them along the roads there.  

 

Be sure to notice them in our neighborhood. There are several on Five Forks Drive across from Naples Lane, and some down Stonebriar, near the Crabapple sign.  They are really beautiful right now, with their dark purple berries.  The berries are pretty, but NOT EDIBLE.  So just look, DON'T TASTE.  I say that as a reminder to myself.  ALWAYS check the field guides, before tasting anything in the wild.  And, even then, be cautious and positively identify whatever it is.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!