NameThatPlant.net: Zanthoxylum americanum

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 (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 103-01-001:

Zanthoxylum americana FAMILY Rutaceae

COMMON NAME:
Northern Toothache Tree, Northern Prickly-ash

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 (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 103-01-001:
Zanthoxylum americana FAMILY Rutaceae

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!

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".