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The zanthoxylums in cultivation are prickly shrubs or rarely small trees with mostly deciduous odd-pinnate, medium-sized or rather small foliage and small greenish or whitish flowers in small, rarely large, axillary or terminal clusters, followed by usually reddish small pods disclosing lustrous black seeds at maturity. Z. americanum is the only species which is hardy North, while the species from eastern Asia, as Z. schinifolium, Z. Bungei, and Z. alatum var. planispinum, have proved fairly hardy in favorable positions as far north as Massachusetts, the first being the hardiest, but they probably will be perfectly hardy in the Middle Atlantic states. They do not seem to be particular as to the soil, but grow best in a well-drained soil and sunny position. Propagation is by seeds and by suckers or root-cuttings.
The zanthoxylums in cultivation are prickly shrubs or rarely small trees with mostly deciduous odd-pinnate, medium-sized or rather small foliage and small greenish or whitish flowers in small, rarely large, axillary or terminal clusters, followed by usually reddish small pods disclosing lustrous black seeds at maturity. Z. americanum is the only species which is hardy North, while the species from eastern Asia, as Z. schinifolium, Z. Bungei, and Z. alatum var. planispinum, have proved fairly hardy in favorable positions as far north as Massachusetts, the first being the hardiest, but they probably will be perfectly hardy in the Middle Atlantic states. They do not seem to be particular as to the soil, but grow best in a well-drained soil and sunny position. Propagation is by seeds and by suckers or root-cuttings.
Z. ailanthoides, Sieb. & Zucc. Tree, attaining 60 ft.: branches with numerous short prickles: lvs. 1-4 ft. long; lfts. oblong-ovate, glabrous, glaucous beneath, 3-6 in. long: fls. and fr. in terminal corymbs. Japan. This is called by Sargent one of the most beautiful trees of Japan. — Z. clava-Herculis, Linn. (Z. carolinianum, Lam.). Toothache Tree. Pepperwood. Small very prickly tree, 30 or occasionally 50 ft.: lfts. 7-17, ovate-lanceolate, pubescent beneath when young, 1 – 2 1/2 in. long: fls. and fr. in terminal panicles. April, May. S. Va. to Fla. and Texas. S.S. 1:29.—Z. dissitum, Hemsl. Scandent shrub, to 12 ft. or more: rachis usually with hooked prickles: lfts. 6-15, coriaceous, petioled, elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, entire, lustrous above, often prickly beneath, 3-6 in. long: fls. in axillary panicles 2-5 in. long, with sepals and petals: stamens long-exserted: fr. crowded, yellowish brown; seeds over 1/4 in. long. Cent. and W. China. This and the two following species have been recently intro. from China.—Z. Piasezkii, Maxim. Allied to Z. piperitum. Shrub, to 10 ft.: lfts. 7-15, ovate or obovate to oblong, slightly crenulate or nearly entire, quite glabrous, 1/3 - 1 in. long: fls. in small corymbs; style short: fr. warty, reddish. W. China.—Z. stenophyllum, Hemsl. Scandent shrub, to 6 ft.: rachis usually with many slender hooked prickles; lfts. 7-13, ovate-oblong to lanceolate, denticulate, glabrous, 1 1/2 - 3 in. long: fls. in terminal loose corymbs, 2-3 in. across, with petals and sepals: stamens long-exserted: fr. reddish, beaked: seeds 1/5 in. long. W. China. Has not proved hardy at the Arnold Arboretum.
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