Japanese Pepper leaf, Sichuan pepper
Zanthoxylum piperitum

Family: Rutaceae

What it is like

A shrubby tree. It grows 3-6 m high. It spreads 3 m wide. It has prickles on both the stem and the branches. It loses its leaves during the year. The leaves are clusters 30 cm long divided into 5-11 oval leaflets. The flowers are greenish-yellow. They appear before the leaves. The fruit are small reddish-brown berries. These are 5 mm across. The fruit split when drying to reveal a tiny black seed.

There are about 200 Zanthoxylum species. The leaves contain essential oil and saponin.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It grows naturally in Szechwan province in SW China. It suits hardiness zones 7-10. Hobart Botanical Gardens.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Australia, Britain, China (country/location of origin), Europe, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Japan (country/location of origin), Korea (country/location of origin), SE Asia, Taiwan, Tasmania, Thailand

How it is used for food

The leaves give a hot peppery taste. They are dried and powdered and used as a spice. They are also pickled. The seeds are ground with salt to make a dip. The flower has a tangy taste. The flowers and immature fruit are pickled or preserved in soy sauce. The leaves are boiled and eaten with oil and salt. The seeds are used as a spice or condiment. The dried fruit hulls are ground and used for flavouring soups, buckwheat noodles and rice dishes.

It is a cultivated food plant.

Edible parts

Seeds, berry, leaves, bark, fruit - spice

How it is grown

Plants can be grown by seed. They can also be grown by root cuttings.

The leaves are dried away from sunlight in a warm dry environment. The berries are dried and then sieved and winnowed. The seeds are removed.

Its other names

Local names

Anise pepper, Anise-pepper, Chin chiao, Chinese pepper, Chopinamu, Chop'inamu, Faah jiu, Fagara, Hu chiao, Hua chiao, Hua jiao, Japanese Prickly Ash, Japanischer Pfeffer, Jepinamu, Pepper Ash, Poivre du Sechuan, Sansho, Szechwan pepper

Synonyms

Probably now Zanthoxylum bungeanum.