The small genus Oplopanax Miq. The young current-year shoots are green, barby, and directed mostly downwards. The barbs are green, with a brownish point. The leaves, petioles, and inflorescences are also barby. The side buds are nearly totally concealed behind flattened and mutually overlapping barbs.
Old shoots are gray, with almost no barbs.
Oplopanax leaves are alternate and concentrated at the stem top. The petioles are up to 25 or more centimeters long, and up to one centimeter in diameter. The petals are loose and yellowish-green. Oplopanax elata has male, female, and bisexual flowers. The distribution of O .