Indian pepper
Zanthoxylum limonella

Family: Rutaceae

What it is like

A medium sized tree. It grows 35 m tall. It loses its leaves during the year. The young bark has spines. The mature bark has prickles 2-3 cm long. All parts have a lemon like smell. The leaves have leaflets along the stalk and can have one at the end. The leaves are 30-40 cm long. The leaflets are almost opposite and are narrowly oval and 7-13 cm long by 3-5 cm wide. The flowering groups are 8-14 cm long in the axils of leaves or at the ends of branches. The flowers are white or pale yellow. The fruit is a flattened follicle 6-7 mm across with one seed in each section. The fruit are green and turn red when ripe. The seeds are hard and black. They are 5 mm across.

There are about 200 Zanthoxylum species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in limestone areas.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Cambodia, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Northeastern India, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, SE Asia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam

How it is used for food

The very young leaves are used as a seasoning. They are also used like hops in beer. The ripe seeds are pounded and used as a spice or pepper substitute. The bark is used as seasoning. It is added to foods or cooked in syrup with spices and made into relish. The unripe fruit have the flavour of orange peel and are used as a spice.

Edible parts

Fruit, leaves, spice, bark, seed coat

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Kamchatton, Kamjad ton, Ma kwaen, Mwiching bwlai, Pepuli

Synonyms

Fagara rhetsa Roxb.; Zanthoxylum budrunga (Roxb.) DC.; Zanthoxylum rhetsa (Roxb.) DC.;