Zanthoxylum ailanthoides Siebold & Zucc.

Trees to 15 m tall, deciduous. Branchlets and inflorescence rachises glabrous, with prickles. Leaves 11-27-foliolate; leaflet blades opposite, narrowly lanceolate but subovate basally on rachis, 7-18 × 2-6 cm, abaxially grayish green or glaucescent, oil glands numerous, midvein adaxially impressed, secondary veins 11-16 on each side of midvein, base symmetrically or subobliquely rounded, margin crenate, apex acuminate. Inflorescences terminal, many flowered. Flowers 5-merous, subsessile. Perianth in 2 series. Sepals broadly triangular, ca. 0.8 mm. Petals pale yellowish white, ca. 2.5 mm. Male flowers: stamens 5; rudimentary gynoecium disciform, 2-or 3-lobed. Female flowers (3 or)4-carpelled. Fruit pedicel 1-3 mm; follicles pale reddish brown but pale gray to brownish gray when dry, ca. 4.5 mm in diam., oil glands numerous, impressed when dry, apex not beaked. Seeds ca. 4 mm in diam. Fl. Aug-Sep, fr. Oct-Dec.

It is a subtropical plant. It is native to E. Asia. It grows in woodland. In southern China it grows between 300-1,500 m above sea level.

The young leaves are chopped and eaten raw or cooked to flavour other dishes. The fruit are dried and crushed and used as flavouring.

It can be grown from seeds. The seeds need 2-3 months of cold treatment. Then they should be soaked before planting. It can also be grown from stem cuttings. 20 cm long sections are used.