Zanthoxylum americanum
northern prickly-ash, toothache tree
Notes:
The bark of this tree used to be chewed to treat toothaches (sap numbs).
As with the related Ptelea trifoliata (both in the citrus family), the flower fragrance is divisive, with Missouri BG claiming "lemony fragrance" (for all parts of the plant, not just the flowers) but Odenwald/Turner using the term "pungent", so I have tagged as both fragrant and malodorous.
Z. clava-herculis (Hercules' club) is the southeastern equivalent.
Sources: Sunset, Dirr, Odenwald/Turner, Missouri BG.
Tags:
aromatic foliage
aromatic twigs/bark
attracts:bees
attracts:birds (ex-humming)
attracts:butterflies
attracts:larval host
dioecious
drought tolerant
easy to grow
exposure:full sun
exposure:part shade
form:shrub
form:tree
fragrant flowers
full sun preferred
habit:oval
habit:rounded
infertile soil tolerant
malodorous flowers
native:eastern North America
persistence:deciduous
pest/disease free
salt tolerant
sandy soil tolerant
stoloniferous/suckering
thorns
type:broadleaf
use:hedge
use:mass planting
use:naturalizing
use:screen
use:shade tree
water:regular
Back to the previous page