Rutaceae FAMILY

Zanthoxylum caribaeum

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree

Growth—

Prefers a sunny position^[1]. Newly planted young trees usually grow away well, reaching heights of 2 metres or more within 2 years^[1]. A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if seed is required.

Propagation

Seed - it has a short viability of 4 months or less, so is best sown as soon as possible after harvesting. It does not require pre-treatment and can be sown in lightly shaded nursery seedbeds. Germination rates are usually below 40%, with the seed sprouting within 40 - 60 days^[1]. It is best to transplant the seedlings to individual containers when about 3 - 4cm tall, and they take 6 months or more before being ready to plant out. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Zanthoxylum+caribaeum>

Pollinators

Insects

References

[1]Brazilian Trees. Volume 1. 4th Edition. — Lorenzi. H. · Instituto Plantarum De Estudos Da Flora; Brazil. · 2002 · ISBN 85-86714-17-8 ↩︎Information on 350 species of Brazilian trees. Stunning photographs of each species, brief details on the plant, its uses and how to grow it from seed. A superb work, with the minor irritation that the translation from Portuguese is not of the best.
[2]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
[3]A Century of Trees of Panama. — Pittier H. Mell C.D. · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎A work that was very difficult to get published according to the correspondence contained at the start!. A treatment of 100 different species with descriptions and details of uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
[4]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region