Bark and berries of Zanthoxylum americanum and Z. clava-herculis, used as a food flavour, reputed to be a circulatory stimulant, and antirheumatic. Also known as toothache bark.
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| Poria | |
| Psyllium |
| Zanthoxylum | |
|---|---|
| Z. kauaense | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Sapindales |
| Family: | Rutaceae |
| Subfamily: | Toddalioideae |
| Genus: | Zanthoxylum L.[1] |
| Type species | |
| Zanthoxylum americanum Mill.[2] |
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| Species | |
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About 250, see text. |
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| Synonyms | |
Zanthoxylum (including Z. fagara) is a genus of about 250 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs in the citrus or rue family, Rutaceae, native to warm temperate and subtropical areas worldwide. Common names include Prickly-ash and Hercules' Club.
The fruit of several species are used to make the spice Sichuan pepper. They are also used as bonsai trees. Historically, the bark was widely used for toothache, colic, and rheumatism.[3]
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The generic name is derived from Greek words ξανθὸς (xanthos), meaning "yellow," and ξύλον (xylon), meaning "wood." It refers to a yellow dye made from the roots of some species.[13] The Takhtajan system places the genus in the subfamily Rutoideae, tribe Zanthoxyleae,[14] while Germplasm Resources Information Network places it in the subfamily Toddalioideae and does not assign it to a tribe.[1] The once separate genus Fagara is now included in Zanthoxylum.[15]
Many Zanthoxylum species make excellent bonsai and in temperate climates they can be grown quite well indoors. Zanthoxylum beecheyanum and Zanthoxylum piperitum are two species commonly grown as bonsai.
Spices are made from a number of species in this genus, especially Zanthoxylum piperitum, Z. simulans, Z. bungeanum, Z. schinifolium Z. nitidum, Z. rhetsa, Z. alatum, and Z. acanthopodium. Sichuan pepper is most often made by grinding the husks that surround Z. piperitum berries.[16] In the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Goa in Western India, the berries of Z. rhetsa are sun-dried and added to foods such as legumes and fish. Because the trees bear fruit during the monsoon season, the berries are associated with the concurrent Krishna Janmashtami festival.[17] It is called timur or timbur in Nepal, Darjeeling and Sikkim and is used widely to make a tingling dip, especially for boiled food like potatoes and yams.
Zanthoxylum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including The Engrailed.
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