Common Name:

General Information

Zanthoxylum nitidum is a prickly, erect or scrambling shrub with spreading branches, sometimes becoming a woody climber[, ].
The plant is sometimes gathered from the wild, mainly for medicinal use. It is also sometimes cultivated as a hedge plant.

Known Hazards

Plants are slightly toxic[].
The pounded plant has been placed in water to stupefy fish[].

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - southern China, southern Japan, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, N. Australia

Habitat

Shrubby thickets[]. Rain forests and thickets; at elevations up to 1,100 metres in Malesia and up to 1,400 metres in continental Asia[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Climber
Height	0.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Zanthoxylum nitidum is a plant mainly of the tropics and subtropics and is unlikely to tolerate much, if any, frost. Its range extends to hardiness zone nine in southern China (from Yunnan to Zhejiang) and so it might also succeed outdoors in the warmest parts of the temperate zone.
Prefers a good deep well-drained moisture retentive soil in full sun or semi-shade[, , ].
Flowers are formed on the old wood[].
A dioecious species, both male and female forms must be grown if seed is required. Occasional plants have both male and female flowers (monoecious)[].

Edible Uses

The fruit is used as a spice[, ].

Medicinal

The root is anodyne, antiphlogistic, carminative, depurative, emmenagogue and febrifuge. It is used as a decoction or an alcoholic maceration in the treatment of fevers, rheumatism, toothache, stomach-ache and against boils[, , , ].

A decoction of the leafy branches is considered cooling, disinfectant and bechic[]. It is gargled n the treatment of inflammation of the throat[].

The resin contained in the bark, and especially in that of the roots, is powerfully stimulant and tonic[].

The bark is used for treating toothache by inserting it into a hollow tooth, most likely acting as a counter-irritant[].

The fruit is considered to be anthelmintic, astringent, carminative, diaphoretic, febrifuge, stomachic and an aromatic stimulant[]. Taken in the form of a decoction or a powder, they are prescribed to treat digestive system problems such as stomach aches, colic, dyspepsia, vomiting and diarrhoea, as well as conditions such as catarrh, uterine haemorrhage, rheumatism and lumbago[, ].
A topical applicalion of an alcoholic maceralion of the fruit is effective against toothache[]. A powder made from the fruit is used to treat snake-bite[].

The stem-bark and root-bark contain the unstable alkaloid nitidioe, which changes readily into dihydsonitidine and oxynilidine[].
The root-bark yields the flavone glycoside diosmin[].
The seeds contain an essential oil with its major component linalool[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is occasionally grown as a hedge in China[, ].

Other Uses

The plant is used as an insecticide[, ].

The root is used in making pipe stems (pipes for smoking)[].

Propagation

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, 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[].