Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Prickly Ash



Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Zanthoxylum
Species: Z. americanum

Identifying Characteristics:

- Shrub, thicket-forming
- Height: 15-20 ft tall
- Spread: 10-15 ft wide
- Paired prickles
- leaves: compound, with 5-11 toothed egg-shaped leaflets and often prickly leafstalks
- Flower: small, greenish, clustered
- Fruit: small, dry, reddish-brown, 1-2 seeded pods

Special Adaptations:

- Found in old fields, fertile woods, and riverbanks

- Leaves have a lemon-like odor

- Known as the toothache tree

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