RUTACEAE

Zanthoxylum clava-herculis Linnaeus. Southern Toothache Tree, Hercules'-club, Sea-ash, Southern Prickly-ash, Pepper-bark, Tickle-tongue. Phen: Mar-May; Jun-Sep. Hab: Maritime forests, dunes, shell middens, shell hammocks, maritime scrub, inland (in FL and GA) in hammocks. Dist: A Southeastern Coastal Plain endemic: se. VA south to s. FL and west to TX, AR, and OK. In the northern part of its distribution, it is restricted to the outer Coastal Plain, nearly entirely on barrier islands.

ID notes: The compound leaves are armed with stout prickles along the rachis. The twigs are also spiny. On the larger branches and trunks, the spines become elevated on conical, pyramidal, or cylindrical corky bases up to 5 cm long and 4 cm in diameter, giving the trunk a very peculiar appearance. Although normally a small tree, it can reach considerable size, up to about 60 cm DBH.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Syn: = Ar, C, Fl4, G, K1, K3, K4, NcTx, RAB, S, Tx, Va, WH3, Porter (1976); = Xanthoxylum clava-herculis – F, orthographic variant

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