Rutaceae FAMILY

Zanthoxylum americanum

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Zanthoxylum americanum is a prickly, deciduous shrub or small tree that produces suckers and can form dense thickets; it can grow from 1 - 8 metres tall[ 277 Title Plants Database Publication Author Website http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet Publisher United States Department of Agriculture Year 0 ISBN Description An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for use mainly as a medicine, but is also the source of an essential oil and the seeds are used as a condiment. The plant is occasionally grown as an ornamental where its prickly nature and suckering habit can produce an effective barrier[ 277 Title Plants Database Publication Author Website http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet Publisher United States Department of Agriculture Year 0 ISBN Description An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants. ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate

Native RangeEastern N. America - North Dakota, Ontario and Quebec, south to Oklahoma Alabama and Florida

HabitatAlong riverbanks and in moist ravines, thickets, and woods. It is also found in somewhat drier areas such as upland rocky hillsides, bluffs, and open woods[ 229 Title The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Publication Author Elias. T. Publisher Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. Year 1980 ISBN 0442238622 Description A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions. , 277 Title Plants Database Publication Author Website http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet Publisher United States Department of Agriculture Year 0 ISBN Description An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants. ].