Ogalpi

Eleutherococcus sessiliflorus

Acanthoside, chlorogenic acid · spring shoots eaten as namul

Ogalpi (Eleutherococcus sessiliflorus) is a deciduous shrub in the aralia family (Araliaceae), with sparse thorns along the stems. In English the name eleuthero usually refers to E. senticosus, a separate species in the same genus, so the two are kept apart here. Its leaves are palmately compound: three to five separate leaflets fan out from the end of one stalk. They are not a single blade cut into lobes, and that is exactly the character that separates it in the hills from castor aralia (Kalopanax septemlobus), whose leaves are simple and lobed. The spring shoots are blanched and dressed as namul, and the berries that ripen black in autumn go into liqueur or a sugar syrup. It throws new stems from running roots, so a corner of a yard, or several large pots, suits it better than one narrow container. The Donguibogam lists it in the Wood section as 五加皮, recording a warm nature while noting that some call it slightly cold, with a pungent, bitter taste and no toxicity. The same entry describes it growing in small clumps in hills and fields with thorns between the stems and five leaves at the branch tips, white flowers in the third or fourth lunar month, and fruit that gradually darkens by the sixth lunar month. The tree called ogalpi today, however, flowers purple in late summer and darkens its fruit in autumn, so that passage does not match the plant in front of you.

Year-Round Calendar

Sowing

Harvest

Where It Grows

Main producer Wild population Latitudes at 15–25℃ Zoom and pan to explore · temperatures are rough zonal averages

Main producer It grows wild in the foothills nationwide and is planted in fields in the mountain districts of Gangwon, North Chungcheong, and North Jeolla. Harvest April, May, October
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Main producer It grows wild in the mountains of Jilin, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang, and is cultivated there as well. It is traded under the name wujiapi.
Wild population It grows wild in the forests of Primorye and Sakhalin in the Far East. What is harvested there, however, is mostly gasi-ogalpi (Eleutherococcus senticosus), a different species.

Its native range is the temperate forests of Korea, northeastern China, and the Russian Far East. Several species share overlapping names, so they have to be read apart: ogalpi is Eleutherococcus sessiliflorus, while the plant known in English as eleuthero or Siberian ginseng, harvested in Russia and northern China, is gasi-ogalpi, the spiny ogalpi (E. senticosus) — a different species. What is traded in China under the name wujiapi includes yet another species as well. Unless this is made clear, the map looks as if it were charting the distribution of a single species.

Optimum: 15~25℃
Range: 5~30℃
Hardiness: Hardy

This is a tree of cool-summer mountain country in the northern temperate zone. It withstands cold of nearly -30℃ and survives in partial shade, but its new shoots only come up thick where it gets sun for at least half the day. In spots where water pools, the roots rot.

Harvested 2–3 years after planting. For the first two or three years after planting a sapling, almost no shoots are picked so the roots can settle in. Once the plant is established, shoots are harvested every spring and fruit every autumn.

In Korea Nationwide

It grows wild in the foothills across the country and is planted in fields in mountain districts such as Hongcheon and Inje in Gangwon, Jecheon in North Chungcheong, and Jinan in North Jeolla. New shoots are picked in April–May, and the fruit in October.

How to grow

Light: Half a day of sun. It will grow in partial shade, but good light is what makes the spring shoots thick
Soil and depth: Free-draining sandy loam. Dig the planting hole at least 40cm deep and work in leaf mould
Spacing: At least 1.5m between plants. It sends up new stems from running roots and forms a thicket within a few years
Watering: Keep it from drying in its first year only; once established it needs water only in a summer drought
Feeding: A spadeful of compost ringed around the base in early spring, covered with soil. Heavy nitrogen gives soft shoots and tough thorns
Harvest: Pick shoots from mid-April to early May, at around 10cm and before the leaves have fully opened. Take only one or two per branch and leave the rest so the plant is not set back. Strip the berries in October, taking only the fully black ones

What makes the difference. Do not pick shoots for the first two years. Stripping the first and second year's growth stops the roots from establishing

Why this one is harder. The thorns are the nuisance. Picking calls for leather gloves and long sleeves, and on a narrow balcony the plant catches your clothes every time you pass. Site it a step back from any path people use

Common problems

Aphids You will see Colonies on shoot tips and leaf undersides, curling the new growth What to do Wash them off with a jet of water. This is picking season, so use an egg-yolk oil spray rather than a pesticide
Spider mites You will see Pale stippling across the leaves and fine webbing underneath What to do Spray water onto the leaf undersides to raise humidity, and cut out badly affected branches
Fall webworm You will see Leaves reduced to a net of veins, with caterpillars clustered together What to do Cut out the whole branch the cluster is on and bag it for disposal. Caught early it ends with one branch

This page describes how a crop is grown and used. It does not claim health effects for any food, nor is it intended to prevent or treat disease. Component and study notes are references only and do not mean the same result occurs in people. Consult a medical professional about health concerns.

Health Benefits

What the Donguibogam records — nature, taste and form. The Donguibogam lists it in the Wood section as 五加皮. It records a warm nature, sets alongside it the note that some call it slightly cold, and gives a pungent, bitter taste with no toxicity. It describes small clumps growing in hills and fields, thorns between the stems, five leaves at each branch tip and a fragrance, adding that specimens with five leaflets are the good ones. The five it counts are the leaflets that gather palmately at the end of a single stalk. This is a historical medical record and differs from modern medical judgment.

The gathering times the Donguibogam gives. The same entry records white flowers in the third or fourth lunar month and fine green fruit that gradually darkens by the sixth lunar month. Stems were cut in the fifth and seventh lunar months and roots dug in the tenth lunar month, then dried in the shade. It also notes that the root resembles a bush clover root, with yellow-black bark, white flesh and a hard core. All of these are lunar dates and do not line up with a modern solar growing calendar. The tree called eleuthero today carries purple flowers in late summer and fruit that ripens black in autumn, so the white flowers of the old entry do not match the plant in front of you either.

Analyses of bark glycoside composition. Analyses report acanthoside D, syringin and isofraxidin identified in the bark of Eleutherococcus species. The same results note wide differences in content by species, plant part and harvest timing. This concerns compositional analysis and has no bearing on preventing or treating disease.

Nutrition

Acanthoside D (eleutheroside E) (identified in stem and root bark) — a lignan glycoside
Syringin (eleutheroside B) — reported from E. senticosus, a separate species (reported in quantity from E. senticosus, not a figure for E. sessiliflorus) — a phenylpropanoid glycoside
Isofraxidin (identified in stem bark) — a coumarin-class compound
Chlorogenic acid (distributed through leaves and young shoots) — a phenolic acid widespread in plants

Preparing the spring shoots Eleuthero shoots are bitter and astringent and are not eaten as they come. Blanch them in salted boiling water, rinse in cold water and leave them to draw for 20 to 30 minutes. Blanching collapses the volume dramatically, so a handful becomes a mouthful. Squeeze the water out well before dressing them or packing them into a soy pickle.

Glycosides in the bark Analyses report acanthoside D, syringin and isofraxidin identified in the stem and root bark of Eleutherococcus species. Content differs widely between species, so figures reported for E. senticosus cannot simply be carried across to E. sessiliflorus. Plant part and harvest timing shift the profile too. This entry stays with the compositional record.

Phenolic acids in leaves and shoots Analyses report chlorogenic acid and other phenolic acids distributed through the leaves and young shoots. A fair amount dissolves away during blanching and soaking. The longer you draw the shoots to take the bitterness out, the more goes with it. Preparation and composition are best treated as a trade-off.

The autumn berries The berries that ripen black in autumn are sharply sour and astringent, and little eaten raw. They usually go into sugar or into liqueur and are used a little at a time. The seeds are hard enough to crunch, so straining is worthwhile. Green berries are far more astringent, so strip only the ones that have gone fully black.

Pairings

○ Doenjang and perilla oil — Blanched and drawn eleuthero shoots take best to doenjang and perilla oil. The salt and savour of the paste cover what bitterness remains, and the oil holds the aroma. Keep the garlic light so the shoot's own scent survives.

○ Namul rice — Chop the drawn shoots, lay them over rice and stir through a seasoning sauce for a side dish that lasts the spring. The aroma is mild enough that other spring greens can go in alongside without either being lost. Wring the shoots out hard after blanching or the rice turns wet.

○ Soy pickle — A flush of shoots that all come at once can go into soy sauce or brine as a pickle. A quick blanch before pickling holds the colour longer. Keep it somewhere cool and open it after about a month.

△ Eating them raw — Eleuthero shoots are not eaten raw. They are too bitter and astringent to take as they are and must be blanched and drawn first. The stems carry thorns, so wear gloves when picking.

△ Pregnancy and breastfeeding — Safety data during pregnancy and breastfeeding is not sufficient for intake beyond the amount eaten as a namul side dish. In those circumstances the safer course is to leave it. Do not give young children more than a side-dish portion either.

△ While on regular medication — Extracts of Eleutherococcus species have been reported to affect the action of some medicines, though most of that data concerns E. senticosus and does not carry across cleanly to E. sessiliflorus. Anyone on regular medication who intends to take it in quantity as a juice or concentrate should follow their doctor's or pharmacist's guidance. A side dish of blanched shoots and a concentrated preparation are not the same conversation.

Varieties

Eleutherococcus sessiliflorus (seedling) — The common species on Korean hillsides. Sparse thorns, growing to around 3m
Eleutherococcus senticosus (seedling) — Fine, dense thorns along the stems. A montane species that struggles with lowland southern heat
Eleutherococcus gracilistylus (seedling) — Native to Jeju. Smaller leaves and thorns that curve downward

Source: Donguibogam, Wood Section 五加皮 · Rural Development Administration (Nongsaro) · Korea National Arboretum species database