Sierra Hinkle shows a group the piece of devil’s club she scored and cut at the Battery Point trailhead Saturday as part of a library workshop. About a dozen people learned how to make devil’s club salve. Natalie Helms photo.

Most Alaskans and others in the Pacific Northwest know to avoid the sharp spines and massive leaves of devil’s club when tromping through forests, but some flock to the plant for its medicinal and practical…