Devil's Walkingstick

FNPS Blog article



Specimen plant or background hedge.

Tolerant of occasional/brief inundation such as can occur in storm surges.



Moderate. Tolerant of salty wind and may get some salt spray. Exposure to salt spray would be uncommon (major storms).

When its huge triply compound leaves are shed in the fall, only the main thorny stem is left standing through the winter months--hence the name devil's walking stick. In the right situation, it can sucker aggressively.

Birds and small mammals consume the fruit. Birds include nuthatches, orioles, chickadees, titmice, and warblers.

The edges of dry hammocks and dry hardwood forests.

• Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Thorns
• Attracts butterflies and bees.  Documented bee species include Colletes mandibularis, Hylaeus confluens, Augochlora pura, Coelioxys dolichos, C. texana, Megachile mendica, M. xylocopoides, and Epeolus zonatus (Deyrup et al. 2002).