Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.

You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina

Read more about Toothache Tree at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.

Chewing a leaf or twig has a numbing effect on the mouth similar to that of Ctenium aromaticum, Toothache Grass, per Weakley's Flora (2022)

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis   FAMILY Rutaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 103-01-002:

Zanthoxylum clava-herculis   FAMILY Rutaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)

Xanthoxylum clava-herculis

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Zanthoxylum clava-herculis

COMMON NAME:
Southern Toothache Tree, Hercules-club, Sea-ash, Southern Prickly-ash

         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905)    mtna_i_667

        

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_zacl_001_lvd

        

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide    pnd_zacl_005_lvd

        

JK Marlow    jkm200301_2975

March    Horry County    SC

Myrtle Beach State Park

A large shrub or small tree, often 4-10m tall, usually with a single trunk, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

JK Marlow    jkm181110_5682

November    Horry County    SC

Myrtle Beach State Park

Leaflets coriaceous, crenate, glabrous, with midveins closer to lower margins, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

JK Marlow    jkm181110_5683

November    Horry County    SC

Myrtle Beach State Park

Rachis spiny; leaflets leathery, narrowly ovate, shallowly toothed, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

JK Marlow    jkm181110_5687

November    Horry County    SC

Myrtle Beach State Park

JK Marlow    jkm181110_5687b

November    Horry County    SC

Myrtle Beach State Park

Twigs greenish-gray (vs. Z. americanum's reddish-brown or gray), per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

Will Stuart    wil_10836880524

November    Horry County    SC

Heritage Shores Nature Preserve

On larger branches and trunks, the spines become elevated on corky bases, per Weakley's Flora (2012).

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis   FAMILY Rutaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis   FAMILY Rutaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 103-01-002:
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis   FAMILY Rutaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Xanthoxylum clava-herculis

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis