Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Malvids: Sapindales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Zanthoxylum americanum
FAMILY
Rutaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Zanthoxylum americanum
FAMILY
Rutaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Zanthoxylum americanum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Zanthoxylum americanum
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 103-01-001:
Zanthoxylum americana FAMILY Rutaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Xanthoxylum americanum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Zanthoxylum americanum
COMMON NAME:
Northern Toothache Tree, Northern Prickly-ash
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969 mpa_page_277
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_zaam_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_zaam_002_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm210407_9307
April Spartanburg County SC
in cultivation
)
JK Marlow jkm210407_9308
April Spartanburg County SC
in cultivation
Flowers in round clusters, ~ 1" across, in leaf axils of 1-year-old branches, per www.minnesotawildflowers.info.
)
Sam Pratt sbp_040122_1348
April Spartanburg County SC
In cultivation
)
Sam Pratt sbp_040122_1356
April Spartanburg County SC
in cultivation
)
Sam Pratt sbp_zanthoxylum1739
May Spartanburg County SC
In cultivation
)
David Campbell mdc_z_americanum_fruits
July Ontario, Canada
Fruits are bumpy pods (follicles) about 5-8mm long, reddish [when mature], per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
David Campbell mdc_z_americanum_leaves
July Ontario, Canada
Leaflets elliptical, finely and shallowly toothed, both surfaces pubescent, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
David Campbell mdc_z_americanum_thorns
July Ontario, Canada
Twigs reddish-brown or gray; broadbased prickles mostly paired at nodes, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Zanthoxylum americanum
FAMILY
Rutaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Zanthoxylum americanum
FAMILY
Rutaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Zanthoxylum americanum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Zanthoxylum americanum
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT)
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 103-01-001:
Zanthoxylum americana
FAMILY
Rutaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT)
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Xanthoxylum americanum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Zanthoxylum americanum
1685
Shrub
Perennial
Dioecious
Habitat: woodlands, forests, and glade margins over calcareous or mafic rocks, often forming extensive colonies near outcrops, per Weakley's Flora
Native to South Carolina & Georgia
Rare, only a single known site in SC
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Leaves often armed with prickles on rachis; prickles on twigs usually paired at nodes
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Odd-pinnately compound: 7-13 leaflets
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring
Yellowish-green
Radially symmetrical
4-6 sepals
4-6 petals
Unisexual
Flowers in small, axillary fascicles
FRUIT:
Summer
Reddish-brown
Follicle
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p284
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p426
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p159
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p081
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p303
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p076
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p10
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p386
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".