Zanthoxylum Prickly Ash
Zanthoxylum L. (1753), in the family Rutaceae, contains around 250 species worldwide. The temperate species are trees or shrubs, and it is these which are described below. Description Trees to 20m, and shrubs, usually with spines. The leaves are alternate, deciduous, aromatic, pinnate, with 3–30 stalkless leaflets, the midrib sometimes winged. The flowers are mostly unisexual, green, in loose or compact clusters in the axils of the upper leaves. Sepals 3–5, small. Petals up to 5, spreading. Stamens 3–5. Ovary superior, with 1–5 cells, each with 2 ovules. Pollination is by insects. The fruits or sections of fruits usually have 1 seed. Key Recognition Features The aromatic, pinnate leaves with spines often in pairs at the base, and red fruits with often black seeds. Evolution and Relationships Some of the larger species from eastern Asia were formerly put in the genus Fagara L. or in Phellodendron. Ecology and Geography In woods in eastern North America, and in east Asia from the Himalayas to Japan and Indonesia. Comment The seeds of Z. piperitum (L.) DC are used in China and Japan as pepper; they cause a numbing sensation in the mouth when chewed. The young leaves are also eaten. |
