Prickly Ash - Northern, Common pricklyash, Northern Prickly Ash
Zanthoxylum americanum
Family: Rutaceae
What it is like
Main Bloom Color: Green, Yellow. Form: Rounded, Vase.
Zanthoxylum americanum is a deciduous Shrub growing to 4 m (13ft) by 4 m (13ft) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 3. It is in flower from May to June, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The species is dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). . The plant is not self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 4
Where it is found
Found on upland rocky hillsides and on moist low-lying sites, in open woods, on bluffs or in thickets.
Eastern N. America - Quebec to Florida, west to Minnesota and Oklahoma.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
Seed - cooked. It is used as a condiment. A pepper substitute. The fruit is rather small, about 4 - 5m in diameter, but is produced in dense clusters which makes harvesting easy. Each fruit contains a single seed.
Condiment: the various plants that are used as flavourings, either as herbs, spices or condiments.
Medicine
Rating: 3
Prickly ash is a warming, stimulating herb that is beneficial for the circulation. It was highly regarded by the native North American Indians who used it especially to alleviate rheumatism and toothache. All parts of the plant, but especially the bark and roots, contain the aromatic bitter oil xanthoxylin. This has a number of applications in medicine, especially in the treatment of arthritic and rheumatic conditions, digestive problems and leg ulcers. The fruit has a similar medicinal action to the bark. The bark and roots are irritant, odontalgic and antirheumatic. Along with the fruit they are diaphoretic, stimulant and a useful tonic in debilitated conditions of the stomach and digestive organs. They produce arterial excitement and are of use in the treatment of fevers, ague, poor circulation etc. The fruits are considered more active than the bark, they are also antispasmodic, carminative, diuretic and antirheumatic. The pulverized root and bark are used to ease the pain of toothache. One report says that it is very efficacious, but the sensation of the acrid bark is fully as unpleasant as the toothache. Chewing the bark induces copious salivation. Rubbing the fruit against the skin, especially on the lips or in the mouth, produces a numbing effect. A tea or tincture of the bark has been used in the treatment of rheumatism, dyspepsia, dysentery, heart and kidney troubles etc. A tea made from the inner bark has been used to treat itchy skin.
Anodyne: Relieves pain, it is milder than an analgesic.
Antirheumatic: Treats rheumatism.
Antispasmodic: Relaxes muscular spasms and cramps, calming nervous irritation.
Carminative: Reduces flatulence and expels gas from the intestines.
Diaphoretic: Induces perspiration.
Diuretic: Acts on the kidneys, promoting the flow of urine.
Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.
Irritant: Causes irritation or abnormal sensitivity in living tissue.
Odontalgic: Treats toothache (temporary measure only) and other problems of the teeth and gums.
Sialagogue: Stimulates the secretion of saliva.
Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.
Stimulant: Excites or quickens activity of the physiological processes. Faster acting than a tonic but differing from a narcotic in that it does not give a false sense of well-being.
Other
Rating: 2
Agroforestry Uses: The plant's prickly nature and suckering habit can produce an effective barrier. Other Uses: The fruits have been used by young men as a perfume. Wood - soft. It weighs 35lb per cubic foot. Of little use.
Essential: Essential oils that are used in perfumery, medicines, paint solvents, insect repellents etc.
Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.
Scented Plants: Plants noted for their scent
How it is grown
Landscape Uses:Border, Massing. Prefers a good deep well-drained moisture retentive soil in full sun or semi-shade. A relatively fast-growing plant in the wild, it often forms thickets by means of root suckers. All parts of the plant are fragrant. The bruised foliage has a delicious resinous orange-like perfume. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required. Flowers are formed on the old wood. Special Features:North American native, Attracts butterflies, Inconspicuous flowers or blooms, Blooms appear periodically throughout the year. For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. A sprouting standard sending up shoots from the base. The root pattern is suckering with new plants from underground runners away from the plant.
Propagating it: Seed - best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in the autumn. Stored seed may requires up to 3 months cold stratification, though scarification may also help. Sow stored seed in a cold frame as early in the year as possible. Germination should take place in late spring, though it might take another 12 months. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter. Plant them out in early summer. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Root cuttings, 3cm long, planted horizontally in pots in a greenhouse. Good percentage. Suckers, removed in late winter and planted into their permanent positions.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge;
Habit: Shrub
Hardiness: 3-7
Growth: Medium
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
Tannins may reduce gut iron absorption. Possble nervous system stimulation. Excessive ingestion may interfere with anticoagulant therapy .
Its other names
Local names
Synonyms
Thylax fraxineum. Zanthoxylum fraxineum. Zanthoxylum fraxinifolium. Zanthoxylum mite.