Wild-Lime, Prickly-Ash

Zanthoxylum fagara (L.) Sarg.

zan-THOX-ah-lum FAY-gah-rah

Rutaceae

Explanation of name: Generic name Greek for yellow wood. Fagara is another genus of Rutaceae.

Natural range: Caribbean, including coastal South Florida

Recognition: Large native shrub or small tree having pinnately compound, dark-green leaves with translucent dots, the leaflets somewhat serrate-crenate, the stalk (rachis) running between the leaflets winged. Thorns paired, pointing downward. Flowers small, numerous, yellow- or creamy-green. Fruits small, withered, with a black seed.

Landscape uses: A tough native shrub or small tree with painful thorns, dark green foliage, and a gnarly form with character. May be used to form a thick, spiny barrier in large spaces. Grown singly, the shape is rounded, and the species can be cultivated in a container. Tends to branch low and to sucker. As a citrus, despite being native, the species should be regarded as a host of Citrus Greening and thus best not propagated and transported about the state.

Note: Species of Zanthoxylum serve as sources of spices, such as “Sechuan Pepper,” and have historical medicinal analgesic properties. An old name for Zanthoxylum americanum (and the species mentioned below) is Toothache-Tree.

Also native to South Florida but not often cultivated, is Zanthoxylum clavis-herculis L., Hercules-Club, a large shrub to mid-sized tree having a distinctively thorny trunk (thorns not paired) and large prickly compound leaves with conspicuous translucent dots.