Zanthoxylum clava-herculis
1630659
216542842
2008-06-02T03:02:42Z
Kingdon
668610
better reference toothache tree here, because some people delete references from disambiguation pages
{{Taxobox
| name = ''Zanthoxylum clava-herculis''
| image = Zanthoxylum clava-herculis.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = ''Xanthophyllum clava-herculis'' (Hercules' Club)
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| subclassis = [[Rosidae]]
| ordo = [[Sapindales]]
| familia = [[Rutaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Zanthoxylum]]''
| species = '''''Z. clava-herculis'''''
| binomial = ''Zanthoxylum clava-herculis''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
'''''Zanthoxylum clava-herculis''''', the '''Hercules' Club, pepperwood, Southern prickly ash''', etc., is a spiny [[tree]] or [[shrub]] native to the southeastern [[United States]]. It grows to 10-17 m tall and has distinctive spined thick, corky lumps 2-3 cm long on the [[bark]]. The [[leaf|leaves]] are pinnately compound, 20-30 cm long with 7-19 leaflets, each leaflet 4-5 cm long. The [[flower]]s are [[plant sexuality|dioecious]], in panicles up to 20 cm long, each flower small, 6-8 mm diameter, with 3-5 white petals. The [[fruit]] is a two-valved capsule 6 mm diameter with a rough surface, and containing several small black [[seed]]s.
[[Image:Zanthoxylum.clava.herculis.jpg|thumb|left|Central part of a leaf, enlarged]]
The tree is also called ''Z. macrophyllum''. Along with the related ''[[Zanthoxylum americanum]]'' it is sometimes called "toothache tree"<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/71/T0267100.html | title=toothache tree | work=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition | year=2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-toothach.html | title=toothache tree | work=The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | year=2007}}</ref> or "tingle tongue" because of the numbness of the mouth, teeth and tongue induced by chewing on its leaves or bark (thus relieving toothache).
The tree has a rounded crown and requires plentiful water and sunlight. Its fruit is eaten by birds, and its leaves are browsed by [[deer]]. It is known to be host to a number of insect species, including the [[Giant swallowtail]] and the [[leaf beetle]] [[Derospidea brevicollis]].
{{Commons|Zanthoxylum}}
==Potentially confused species==
The name hercules' club also can apply to ''[[Aralia spinosa]]'', also native to eastern North America. ''Aralia'' has large twice-compound leaves and very large leaf scars, so the trees are easily distinguished.
== References ==
<references/>
==External links==
* [http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/Syllabus2/xclava-herculis.htm Zanthoxylum clava-herculis fact sheet]
* [http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/62606/ Z. clava-herculis at ''Dave's Garden'']
* [http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/shrub/zacl.htm Z. clava-herculis - Oklahoma University biosurvey]
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Zanthoxylum+clava-herculis&CAN=LATIND Z. clava-herculis - Plants for a Future database]
[[Category:Sapindales]]