Hi all,

The mystery plant in the photos is an Aralia - probably
Aralia spinosa, aka Aralia elata. There were several in
the
Renton neighborhood I grew up in. One was at the end of
the large lawn where we used to play football and we
soon learned NOT to grab the slim trunk when we needed
to slow down in the end zone - it is SPINY!.

It is generally a small (10-20ft) tall single or multi-
trunked tree. It blooms late, w/ creamy white flowers
and the small purple berries in September are beloved of
waxwings among other birds. Nice tree, but it does have
the ability to sucker from roots away from the main
trunk, so should be used where that is not a problem.

cheers,

Jim Flynn
Seattle, WA
buteoreg at attbi.com