Common Name: Prickly Ash

General Information

Zanthoxylum americanum is a prickly, deciduous shrub or small tree that produces suckers and can form dense thickets; it can grow from 1 - 8 metres tall[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for use mainly as a medicine, but is also the source of an essential oil and the seeds are used as a condiment. The plant is occasionally grown as an ornamental where its prickly nature and suckering habit can produce an effective barrier[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

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Range

Eastern N. America - North Dakota, Ontario and Quebec, south to Oklahoma Alabama and Florida

Habitat

Along riverbanks and in moist ravines, thickets, and woods. It is also found in somewhat drier areas such as upland rocky hillsides, bluffs, and open woods[, ].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Shrub
Height	4.00 m
Pollinators	Bees
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Prefers a good deep well-drained moisture retentive soil in full sun or semi-shade[, , ]. Grows well in poor soils[].
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[]. When broken, the twigs have a strong odour reminiscent of crushed lemon peel[]..
A dioecious species - both male and female forms must be grown if fruit and seed are required.
Flowers are formed on the old wood[].

Edible Uses

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[].

Medicinal

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 antirheumatic, diaphoretic, irritant, odontalgic, stimulant and a useful tonic in the treatment of 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[].
Infusions of the bark were taken internally as a treatment for back pain, cramps, pulmonary problems, to treat fevers, and as a cold and cough remedy[]. The bark was boiled into a decoction that was taken to induce miscarriages. Bark infusions were taken to treat worms in adults.[]
The bark was used in different forms to alleviate toothaches:-smoking the bark relieved the pain of the toothache; the beaten or dried and powdered bark was packed in and around an aching tooth; pieces of the bark were chewed to help breakup a tooth that was to be removed[]. One report says that the bark is very efficacious, but that the sensation of the acrid bark in the mouth is fully as unpleasant as the toothache[].
Applied externally, an infusion of the bark was used as a wash to treat itching skin and to treat swollen joints. Children who were weak were washed with a decoction of the bark to make their legs and feet strong.
A poultice made from the inner bark was used to treated rheumatism and sharp pains. Placing the inner bark in the throat treated sore throats[]. A tea made from the inner bark has been used as a wash to treat itchy skin and swollen joints[, , ].
The bark of the roots was used to treat colic, rheumatism, and gonorrhoea[].

Infusions, made from the crushed roots, were used to treat fevers[].

The fruits are considered more active than the bark. They are antirheumatic, antispasmodic, carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic, stimulant and a useful tonic in the treatment of debilitated conditions of the stomach and digestive organs[, , ].
Infusions of the berries were used to spray on the chest and throat to treat bronchial diseases, to wash sores, and to flavour medicines[]. Rubbing the fruit against the skin, especially on the lips or in the mouth, produces a numbing effect[].

The bark and the berries were used together to treat haemorrhages, to make cough syrup, as an expectorant, and to treat tuberculosis[].

The plant was used to treat pain after childbirth[].
An ointment, made my mixing the plant with bear grease, was applied to ulcers and sores[].
The plant was an ingredient in compounds that were used for kidney trouble, to strengthen convalescing patients, and to induce vomiting[].

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[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in the autumn. Stored seed may require up to 3 months cold stratification, though scarification may also help[]. Pre-soak stored seed for 12 hours in warm water then sow 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, mid summer 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[].