Forgot to do the html, sorry.

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Is this in moist shade? At a higher elevation? It's difficult to get a sense of the plant's habit -- it looks like it rambles or declines on surrounding vegetation?

My first thought was a viburnum (maybe V. lantanoides [formerly V. alnifolium])-- a cyme of fruit of many colors is typical for the genus. But those tri-compound leaves, if I'm seeing it correctly in the photo, and the fact that it blooms in August are not the habit of any native viburnums I'm familiar with. I'm interested to know what it is.

Soeur

Indeed, with all the surrounding foliage and the sense that the stems and fruit clusters are weighing the plant down, it is hard to know what we are looking at or the true habit.
My first thought was false Solomon's seal (Smilacina), but no way.
Are the stems cane like, or armed with thorns?

Rx

I'm tempted to think it is Aralia racemosa which is herbaceous. But the size of it usually makes it looking shrub-like.

Looks like Aralia to me as well. The fruit cluster is pretty distinctive.

That's it -- Aralia racemosa. Odd how the foliage in the photo doesn't appear to be ternately divided. Must be a significant amount of variability to that characteristic, although I find no remarks to that effect in any literature I can dig up.

Soeur

Spikenard it is, thanks to all of you for the help. This is a great board!

This one was on a north facing bank of a railroad track by a mountain river, elevation around 800'. The stems are cane like, not woody, no thorns, and I've seen some specimens more erect. This one was probably sprawling to compete with all the other vegetation.