If you dare to leave the trail, you may find plants that scratch, sting, itch, and grab. These are plants I've dubbed, "confrontational flora."
Devil's club (Oplopanax horridus)Devil's Club is the king of confrontational flora here on the Olympic Peninsula. There are irritating spines on the woody stems and on both the tops and bottoms of the leaves. It can grow up to 10 ft tall with leaves that are over a foot across. It grows as an understory shrub in dense moist evergreen forests. It can create a tall thicket that you really wouldn't want to try to bushwhack through.
Even so, the native peoples used this plant medicinally, as poultices and teas, and ceremonially, making it into face paint. A branch might be hung over the door to ward off evil. It was considered protective, possibly because of its diabolical spines. The roots and inner bark were used to treat arthritis, digestive tract ailments, diabetes, and other health problems. Of course, one would first have to carefully harvest it and scrape off all the spines. Ouch!
The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Snails, fish, insects, weather, meteorites, climate, birds and/or flowers. All are worthy additions to the bucket. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Carefully venture past the tangled thicket for more confrontational plants.