Zanthoxylum clava-herculis

hercules' club, hercules-club, hercules-club pricklyash, pepperbark, prickly ash, tickle-tongue, toothache tree
Family

Rutaceae

Leaf Arrangement

alternate

Leaf Type

compound, pinnate

Growth Form

shrub, tree

Flower Color

green, white, yellow

Flower Petals

5

Flower Month

April - September

Height (meters)

4.0 - 6.0

Milky Sap

No

Armed/Unarmed

Armed

Origin

native

Lifespan

perennial

Growing Season

Warm season

Leaf Retention

Deciduous


Wetland Class

FAC

Wetland Coefficient of Conservatism

7

Prairie Coefficient of Conservatism

3

Field Characters

A rounded shrub or small tree with alternate, 1-3 dm long, compound leaves. Each leaf has 9-19 leaflets that have pointed tips. Trunk with round, pointed protuberances on trunk. It is sometimes confused with Aralia spinosa, also native to eastern North America but unlike Zanthoxylum, Aralia has large twice-compound leaves and very large leaf scars, so the trees are easily distinguished.

Cultural Information

Seeds average approximately 17,900/lb.

Natural History

The Acadian French name for prickly ash is "Frene piquant," or "stinging ash," referring to its numerous spines and its resemblance to the ash (Holmes 1990). It occurs throughout the southeastern United States.

Habitat

Forested areas and fencerows of south Louisiana, and southeast Texas.

Plant Uses

The common name "toothache tree" results from the numbing sensation in the mouth produced when the bark is chewed. Caution should be used when harvesting bark, as other trees with compound leaves are poisonous.