Zanthoxylum


Zanthoxylum is a genus of about 250 species of deciduous and evergreen trees, shrubs and climbers in the family Rutaceae that are native to warm temperate and subtropical areas worldwide. It is the type genus of the tribe Zanthoxyleae in the subfamily Rutoideae. Several of the species have yellow heartwood, to which their generic name alludes. Several species are cultivated for their use as spices, notably including Sichuan pepper.

Description

Plants in the genus Zanthoxylum are typically dioecious shrubs, trees or woody climbers armed with trichomes. The leaves are arranged alternately and are usually pinnate or trifoliate. The flowers are usually arranged in panicles and usually function as male or female flowers with four sepals and four petals, the sepals remaining attached to the fruit. Male flowers have four stamens opposite the sepals. Female flowers have up to five, more or less free carpels with the styles free or sometimes fused near the tip. The fruit is usually of up to four follicles fused at the base, each containing a single seed almost as large as the follicle.

Taxonomy

The genus Zanthoxylum was first formally described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in the first volume of Species Plantarum.
The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek words , meaning 'yellow', and , meaning 'wood'. It is technically misspelled, as the z should be x, but botanical nomenclature does not allow for spelling corrections. It refers to a yellow dye made from the roots of some species. The first species that Linnaeus described was Zanthoxylum trifoliatum, now regarded as a synonym of Eleutherococcus trifoliatus. The once separate genus Fagara is now included in Zanthoxylum.

Fossil record

28 fossil seeds of the extinct Zanthoxylum kristinae, from the early Miocene, have been found in the Kristina Mine at Hrádek nad Nisou in North Bohemia, the Czech Republic.

Uses

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.

Culinary use

s are made from a number of species in this genus, including:
  • Zanthoxylum acanthopodium – Andaliman
  • Zanthoxylum armatum – "green" or "vine" Sichuan pepper
  • Zanthoxylum bungeanum – "red" or common Sichuan pepper
  • Zanthoxylum gilletii - Uzazi
  • Zanthoxylum piperitum –,
  • Zanthoxylum nitidum
  • Zanthoxylum rhetsa – teppal, tirphal
  • Zanthoxylum schinifolium –, "green" Sichuan pepper
  • Zanthoxylum simulans – "red" or wild Sichuan pepper

    Andaliman

In Indonesia's North Sumatra province, Zanthoxylum acanthopodium is harvested for andaliman. In Indonesian Batak cuisine, andaliman is ground and mixed with chilies and seasonings into a green sambal or chili paste. Arsik is a typical Indonesian dish containing andaliman.

and

Zanthoxylum piperitum is harvested in Japan and Korea to produce or , which has numbing properties similar to those of Chinese Sichuan peppercorns.
In Korean cuisine, is often used to accompany fish soups such as, whereas the plant's seeds are separated and used to make oil, and the oil is used as a medicine.

Sancho

The Korean is made from Zanthoxylum schinifolium, which is slightly less bitter than. In Korean cuisine, is often used to accompany fish soups such as.

Sichuan pepper

The fruit of Zanthoxylum armatum and Zanthoxylum bungeanum species is used to make Sichuan pepper by grinding the husks that surround the berries.

Triphal and teppal

In the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Goa in Western India, the dried berries of Zanthoxylum rhetsa are known as teppal or tirphal in Marathi are added to foods such as legumes and fish. The name in both languages means 'three fruits' or 'three pods'. Because the trees bear fruit during the monsoon season, the berries are associated with the concurrent Krishna Janmashtami festival.
The fresh fruits are parrot green in color and are used as a flavouring agent in many curries made with a paste of coconut, chilis, and other spices. When dried, the flesh of the fruit hardens, turns a brownish black color and opens up to show the black seeds within. The seeds are discarded and the dried fruit is stored in containers for use around the year. Mostly used in fish preparations and a few vegetarian dishes, with coconut masala, this spice has a very strong woody aroma and is discarded at the time of eating the curry.

Chemistry

Plants in the genus Zanthoxylum contain the lignan sesamin.
Species identified in Nigeria contains several types of alkaloids including benzophenanthridines, furoquinolines, carbazoles, aporphines, canthinones, acridones, and aromatic and aliphatic amides.
Hydroxy-alpha sanshool is a bioactive component of plants from the genus Zanthoxylum, including the Sichuan pepper. It provides the characteristic numbness.

Ecology

Zanthoxylum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the engrailed.

Species

The following is a list of species accepted by Plants of the World Online as of August 2020:
  • Zanthoxylum acanthopodium D.R.Simpson
  • Zanthoxylum aculeatissimum Engl.
  • Zanthoxylum acuminatum Sw.
  • Zanthoxylum ailanthoides Siebold & Zucc. – ailanthus-like prickly ash
  • Zanthoxylum albiflorum Baker f.
  • Zanthoxylum albuquerquei D.C.
  • Zanthoxylum amamiense Ohwi
  • Zanthoxylum amapaense P.G.Waterm.
  • Zanthoxylum americanum Mill. – northern prickly ash, prickly ash, toothache tree
  • Zanthoxylum anadenium J.Jiménez Alm.
  • Zanthoxylum andamanicum Kurz
  • Zanthoxylum andinum Reynel
  • Zanthoxylum anison L.O.Williams
  • Zanthoxylum anthyllidifolium Guillaumin
  • Zanthoxylum apiculatum P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum arborescens Rose
  • Zanthoxylum armatum DC. – winged prickly ash
  • Zanthoxylum atchoum P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum austrosinense C.C.Huang
  • Zanthoxylum avicennae DC.
  • Zanthoxylum backeri T.G.Hartley
  • Zanthoxylum beechyanum K.Koch
  • Zanthoxylum bifoliolatum Leonard – Maricao prickly ash
  • Zanthoxylum bissei Beurton
  • Zanthoxylum bonifaziae Cornejo & Reynel
  • Zanthoxylum bouetense P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum brachyacanthum F.Muell. – thorny yellowwood
  • Zanthoxylum brisasanum P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum buesgenii P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. – Chinese/Sichuan pepper
  • Zanthoxylum burkillianum Babu
  • Zanthoxylum calcicola C.C.Huang
  • Zanthoxylum campicola Reynel
  • Zanthoxylum canalense P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum capense Harv.
  • Zanthoxylum caribaeum Lam. – yellow prickly ash
  • Zanthoxylum caudatum Alston
  • Zanthoxylum celebicum Koord.
  • Zanthoxylum chalybeum Engl.
  • Zanthoxylum chevalieri P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum chuquisaquense Reynel
  • Zanthoxylum ciliatum Engl.
  • Zanthoxylum claessensii P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum clava-herculis L. – Hercules' club, pepperbark, southern prickly ash, West Indian yellowwood
  • Zanthoxylum coco Gillies ex Hook.f. f. & Arn. – coco, cochucho, smelly sauco
  • Zanthoxylum collinsiae Craib
  • Zanthoxylum comosum P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum compactum P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum conspersipunctatum Merr. & Perry
  • Zanthoxylum cucullatipetalum Guillaumin
  • Zanthoxylum davyi P.G.Waterman – forest knobwood
  • Zanthoxylum decaryi H.Perrier
  • Zanthoxylum delagoense P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum deremense Kokwaro
  • Zanthoxylum dimorphophyllum Hemsl.
  • Zanthoxylum dinklagei P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum dipetalum H.Mann – Kāwau
  • Zanthoxylum dissitum Hemsl.
  • Zanthoxylum diversifolium Warb.
  • Zanthoxylum djalma-batistae P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum domingense J.Jiménez Alm.
  • Zanthoxylum dumosum A.Rich.
  • Zanthoxylum echinocarpum Hemsl.
  • Zanthoxylum ekmanii Alain
  • Zanthoxylum eliasii D.M.Porter
  • Zanthoxylum engleri Waterm.
  • Zanthoxylum esquirolii H.Lév.
  • Zanthoxylum fagara Sarg. – Lime prickly ash
  • Zanthoxylum fauriei Ohwi – lesser ailanthus-like prickly ash
  • Zanthoxylum finlaysonianum Wall.
  • Zanthoxylum flavum Vahl – West Indian satinwood
  • Zanthoxylum foliolosum Donn.Sm.
  • Zanthoxylum forbesii T.G.Hartley
  • Zanthoxylum formiciferum P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum gardneri Engl.
  • Zanthoxylum gentryi Reynel
  • Zanthoxylum ghisbreghtii Turcz.
  • Zanthoxylum gillespieanum A.C.Sm.
  • Zanthoxylum gilletii P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum glomeratum C.C.Huang
  • Zanthoxylum grandifolium Tul.
  • Zanthoxylum haitiense J.Jiménez Alm.
  • Zanthoxylum hamadryadicum Pirani
  • Zanthoxylum harrisii P.Wilson
  • Zanthoxylum hartii Rehder
  • Zanthoxylum mollissimum P.Wilson
  • Zanthoxylum monogynum A.St.-Hil.
  • Zanthoxylum motuoense C.C.Huang
  • Zanthoxylum multijugum Franch.
  • Zanthoxylum myriacanthum Wall. ex Hook.f.
  • Zanthoxylum myrianthum P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum nadeaudii Drake
  • Zanthoxylum nashii P.Wilson
  • Zanthoxylum nebuletorum P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum nemorale Mart.
  • Zanthoxylum neocaledonicum Baker f.
  • Zanthoxylum nigrum Mart.
  • Zanthoxylum nitidum DC. – shiny-leaf prickly ash
  • Zanthoxylum novoguineense T.G.Hartley
  • Zanthoxylum oahuense Hillebr. – Oahu prickly ash
  • Zanthoxylum ovalifolium Wight
  • Zanthoxylum ovatifoliolatum Finkelstein
  • Zanthoxylum oxyphyllum Edgew.
  • Zanthoxylum panamense P.Wilson
  • Zanthoxylum pancheri P.S.Green
  • Zanthoxylum paniculatum Balf.f.
  • Zanthoxylum paracanthum Kokwaro
  • Zanthoxylum paulae P.G. Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum pentandrum R.A.Howard
  • Zanthoxylum petenense Lundell
  • Zanthoxylum petiolare A.St.-Hil. & Tul.
  • Zanthoxylum piasezkii Maxim.
  • Zanthoxylum pilosiusculum P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum pilosulum Rehder & E.H.Wilson
  • Zanthoxylum pimpinelloides DC.
  • Zanthoxylum pinnatum W.R.B.Oliv.
  • Zanthoxylum piperitum DC.
  • Zanthoxylum phyllopterum Wright
  • Zanthoxylum piasezkii Maxim.
  • Zanthoxylum pilosiusculum P.G.Waterm.
  • Zanthoxylum pilosulum Rehder & E.H. Wilson
  • Zanthoxylum pimpinelloides DC.
  • Zanthoxylum pinnatum Druce
  • Zanthoxylum piperitum DC. – Japanese pepper, chopi, [Korean pepper">Alfred Rehder">Rehder
  • Zanthoxylum mollissimum P.Wilson
  • Zanthoxylum monogynum A.St.-Hil.
  • Zanthoxylum motuoense C.C.Huang
  • Zanthoxylum multijugum Franch.
  • Zanthoxylum myriacanthum Wall. ex Hook.f.
  • Zanthoxylum myrianthum P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum nadeaudii Drake
  • Zanthoxylum nashii P.Wilson
  • Zanthoxylum nebuletorum P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum nemorale Mart.
  • Zanthoxylum neocaledonicum Baker f.
  • Zanthoxylum nigrum Mart.
  • Zanthoxylum nitidum DC. – shiny-leaf prickly ash
  • Zanthoxylum novoguineense T.G.Hartley
  • Zanthoxylum oahuense Hillebr. – Oahu prickly ash
  • Zanthoxylum ovalifolium Wight
  • Zanthoxylum ovatifoliolatum Finkelstein
  • Zanthoxylum oxyphyllum Edgew.
  • Zanthoxylum panamense P.Wilson
  • Zanthoxylum pancheri P.S.Green
  • Zanthoxylum paniculatum Balf.f.
  • Zanthoxylum paracanthum Kokwaro
  • Zanthoxylum paulae P.G. Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum pentandrum R.A.Howard
  • Zanthoxylum petenense Lundell
  • Zanthoxylum petiolare A.St.-Hil. & Tul.
  • Zanthoxylum piasezkii Maxim.
  • Zanthoxylum pilosiusculum P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum pilosulum Rehder & E.H.Wilson
  • Zanthoxylum pimpinelloides DC.
  • Zanthoxylum pinnatum W.R.B.Oliv.
  • Zanthoxylum piperitum DC.
  • Zanthoxylum phyllopterum Wright
  • Zanthoxylum piasezkii Maxim.
  • Zanthoxylum pilosiusculum P.G.Waterm.
  • Zanthoxylum pilosulum Rehder & E.H. Wilson
  • Zanthoxylum pimpinelloides DC.
  • Zanthoxylum pinnatum Druce
  • Zanthoxylum piperitum DC. – Japanese pepper, chopi, [Korean pepper
  • Zanthoxylum pluviatile T.G.Hartley
  • Zanthoxylum poggei P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum psammophilum P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum pseudoxyphyllum Babu
  • Zanthoxylum pteracanthum Rehder & E.H.Wilson
  • Zanthoxylum pucro D.M Porter
  • Zanthoxylum punctatum Vahl – dotted prickly ash
  • Zanthoxylum quassiifolium Standl. & Steyerm.
  • Zanthoxylum quinduense Tul.
  • Zanthoxylum renieri P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum retroflexum T.G.Hartley
  • Zanthoxylum retusum P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum rhetsa DC. – Cape yellowwood, Indian ivy-rue, Indian pepper
  • Zanthoxylum rhodoxylum P.Wilson
  • Zanthoxylum rhoifolium Lam.
  • Zanthoxylum rhombifoliolatum C.C.Huang
  • Zanthoxylum riedelianum Engl.
  • Zanthoxylum rigidum Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.
  • Zanthoxylum rubescens Planch. ex Hook.
  • Zanthoxylum sapindifolium Wall.
  • Zanthoxylum sarasinii Guillaumin
  • Zanthoxylum scandens Blume
  • Zanthoxylum schinifolium Siebold & Zucc. – mastic-leaf prickly ash, Sichuan pepper
  • Zanthoxylum schlechteri Guillaumin
  • Zanthoxylum schreberi Reynel ex C.Nelson
  • Zanthoxylum setulosum P.Wilson
  • Zanthoxylum simulans Hance
  • Zanthoxylum spinosum Sw.
  • Zanthoxylum spondiifolium Wall.
  • Zanthoxylum sprucei Engl.
  • Zanthoxylum stelligerum Turcz.
  • Zanthoxylum stenophyllum Hemsl.
  • Zanthoxylum subspicatum H. Perrier
  • Zanthoxylum syncarpum Tul. ex B.D.Jacks.
  • Zanthoxylum taediosum A.Rich.
  • Zanthoxylum tahitense J.Florence & N.Hallé
  • Zanthoxylum tambopatense Reynel
  • Zanthoxylum tetraphyllum J.Jiménez Alm.
  • Zanthoxylum tetraspermum Wight & Arn.
  • Zanthoxylum thomense A.Chev. ex P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum thornycroftii P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum thouventii H.Perrier
  • Zanthoxylum tidorense Miq.
  • Zanthoxylum timoriense Span.
  • Zanthoxylum tingoassuiba A.St.-Hil.
  • Zanthoxylum tomentellum Hook.f.
  • Zanthoxylum tragodes DC. – Niaragato
  • Zanthoxylum trijugum P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum tsihanimposa H.Perrier
  • Zanthoxylum undulatifolium Hemsl.
  • Zanthoxylum unifoliatum Groppo & Pirani
  • Zanthoxylum usambarense Kokwara
  • Zanthoxylum usitatum Pierre ex Laness.
  • Zanthoxylum venosum Leonard
  • Zanthoxylum verrucosum P.G.Waterman
  • Zanthoxylum vinkii T.G.Hartley
  • Zanthoxylum viride T.G.Hartley
  • Zanthoxylum vitiense A.C.Sm.
  • Zanthoxylum wutaiense I.S.Chen
  • Zanthoxylum xichouense C.C.Huang
  • Zanthoxylum yakumontanum Nagam.
  • Zanthoxylum yuanjiangensis C.C.Huang
  • Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides Zepern. & Timler – Senegal prickly ash