Zanthoxylum acanthopodium
Zanthoxylum acanthopodium, or andaliman, is a flowering plant in the family Rutaceae. Its range includes southwestern China, Bangladesh, Bhutan, north and northeastern India, Nepal, Laos, Myanmar, northern Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Peninsular Malaysia.
Distribution
The plant is found in Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Tibet, and Yunnan in China. It is spread across Northeast India, i.e., Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim. It is also found Nepal and in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal in India.Much like the closely related Sichuan pepper, the seed pericarps are used as spices in cooking and have a similar tongue-numbing characteristic. However, the andaliman flavour in cooking has lemon-like notes and hints of the aromatic pandan leaf.
In local culture
In Nagaland, it is called ganyǎ in the Angami language.In Meghalaya, it is called as Jaiur and iaiur