WorldFloraDB - Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides

Characteristics

A shrub or small tree. It grows 6-8 m tall. It has spines. The trunk is straight and short. The branches are usually low down. The crown is round. The bark is grey and rough with fine cracks. The leaves are alternate and smooth. They are compound with leaflets along the stalk and one at the end. There are 5-7 pairs of opposite leaflets. The leaves are about 12 cm long. The leaflets are 5-10 cm long by 2-4 cm wide. They small of pepper and lemon when crushed. The flowers are of one sex and white or green. They are along stalks in loose groups 5-15 cm long. The fruit is an oval follicle. It is 5-6 mm across. There is one seed.

Life form	perennial
Growth form	tree
Growth support	-
Foliage retention	evergreen
Sexuality	dioecy
Pollination	entomogamy
Spread	-
Mature width (meter)	-
Mature height (meter)	10.0
Root system	-
Rooting depth (meter)	-
Root diameter (meter)	-
Flower color
Blooming months	-
Fruit color	-
Fruiting months	-
Nitrogen fixer	-
Photosynthetic pathway	-

Environment

Savannah, thickets, dry and transitional forests, forest patches on dry ground, secondary dry forests; coastal dunes and thickets; termite mounds; locally abundant in coastal areas.

More

It is a tropical plant. It grows in woodland and savannah. It also grows in palm groves and coastal sands.

Light	-
Soil humidity	-
Soil texture	-
Soil acidity	-
Soil nutriment	-
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

The dried leaves are used as flavouring. They are applied like pepper for meat and sauces. The fruit are eaten fresh and also fermented.

Uses	environmental use food fuel gene source material medicinal poison social use wood
Edible	barks fruits leaves roots seeds
Therapeutic use	Analgesic (unspecified), Anodyne (unspecified), Antiseptic (unspecified), Caries (unspecified), Colic (unspecified), Conjunctivitis (unspecified), Enema (unspecified), Fever (unspecified), Leprosy (unspecified), Narcotic (unspecified), Puerperium (unspecified), Rheumatism (unspecified), Stomach (unspecified), Swelling (unspecified), Syphilis (unspecified), Toothache (unspecified), Vermifuge (unspecified), Diarrhea (unspecified), Edema (unspecified), Gastritis (unspecified), Paralysis (unspecified), Sore (unspecified)
Human toxicity	-
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

It is grown as a hedge. Trees can be cut back and will re-grow.

Mode	seedlings
Germination duration (days)	-
Germination temperacture (C°)	-
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	-
Minimum temperature (C°)	-
Optimum temperature (C°)	-
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-