Zanthoxylum americanum

Zanthoxylum americanum, the common prickly-ash, common pricklyash, common prickly ash or northern prickly-ash (also sometimes called toothache tree, yellow wood, or suterberry), is an aromatic shrub or small tree native to central and eastern portions of the United States and Canada. It is the northernmost New World species in the citrus family, Rutaceae, and is the type species in its genus, which includes sichuan pepper. It can grow to 10 meters (33 ft) tall with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of 15 cm (5.9 in). It produces membranous leaflets and axillary flower clusters. The wood is not commercially valuable, but oil extracts from the bark have been used in traditional and alternative medicine and have been studied for antifungal and cytotoxic properties. The genus name is sometimes spelled Xanthoxylum.

Description

A shrub or small tree. It can be 4-10 m tall. The leaves have leaflets along the side. There are 5-11 leaflets. Male and female flowers are on separate plants. The flowers are in clusters in the axils of leaves. The petals are yellow to green. The fruit are green and turn red. The fruit are 4-5 mm across and contain one seed.

Edible Uses

The seed is cooked and used as a condiment and pepper substitute. The fruit is small — about 4–5mm in diameter — but is borne in dense clusters that make harvesting easy. Each fruit contains a single seed.

Traditional Uses

The seeds are cooked and used as a pepper substitute.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

Prickly ash is a warming, stimulating herb valued for improving circulation. It was highly regarded by native North American Indians for relieving rheumatism and toothache. All parts of the plant, particularly the bark and roots, contain the aromatic bitter oil xanthoxylin, which is used especially for arthritic and rheumatic conditions, digestive problems and leg ulcers. The fruit has a similar medicinal action to the bark. Bark and roots are irritant, odontalgic and antirheumatic; together with the fruit they act as diaphoretics and stimulants, making them useful tonics for debilitated digestive conditions. They promote arterial circulation and are used in treating fevers, ague and poor circulation. The fruits are considered more active than the bark and are also antispasmodic, carminative, diuretic and antirheumatic. Pulverized root and bark ease toothache pain, though one account notes that the sensation of the acrid bark is about as unpleasant as the toothache itself. Chewing the bark induces copious salivation. Rubbing the fruit against the skin — particularly the lips or inside the mouth — produces a numbing effect. A tea or tincture of the bark is used for rheumatism, dyspepsia, dysentery, and heart and kidney problems. A tea made from the inner bark treats itchy skin.

Known Hazards

Tannins may reduce gut iron absorption. Possble nervous system stimulation. Excessive ingestion may interfere with anticoagulant therapy.

Distribution

It is a temperate plant. It suits hardiness zones 3-7.

Where It Grows

Canada, North America*, Slovenia, USA,

Cultivation

Prefers a good deep well-drained moisture retentive soil in full sun or semi-shade. A relatively fast-growing plant in the wild, it often forms thickets by means of root suckers. All parts of the plant are fragrant. The bruised foliage has a delicious resinous orange-like perfume. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required. Flowers are formed on the old wood. A sprouting standard sending up shoots from the base.

Propagation

Seed is best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in autumn. Stored seed may need up to 3 months of cold stratification, though scarification may also help. Sow stored seed in a cold frame as early in the year as possible; germination should occur in late spring, though it may take a further 12 months. Prick seedlings into individual pots when large enough and grow on in a cold frame through their first winter, then plant out in early summer. Half-ripe cuttings can be taken in July/August in a frame. Root cuttings 3cm long, planted horizontally in pots in a greenhouse, give a good success rate. Suckers can be removed in late winter and planted directly into permanent positions.

Other Uses

The plant's prickly nature and suckering habit make it an effective barrier hedge. The fruits have been used by young men as a perfume. The wood is soft, weighing 35lb per cubic foot, and is of little practical use.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Northern Prickly-ash, Toothachetree

References (6)

• http://www.botanic-gardens-ljubljana.com/en/plants
• Jackes, D. A., 2007, Edible Forest Gardens
• Plants for a Future.
• Toupal, R. S. & Hollenback, K., 2009, An Ethnobotany of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore: Plant Uses of the Ojibwa People. Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology. University of Arizona
• Wiersema, J. H. & Leon, B., 2013, World Economic Plants. A Standard Reference CRC Press. 2nd Ed. p 733

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