Zanthoxylum simulans

Zanthoxylum simulans
Habitus of leafless plant
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Rutaceae
Genus:	Zanthoxylum
Species:	Z. simulans
Binomial name
Zanthoxylum simulans Hance
Subspecies
Zanthoxylum simulans subsp. calcareum Z.H.Chen, Feng Chen & W.Zhu Zanthoxylum simulans subsp. simulans
Synonyms
Zanthoxylum bungei Zanthoxylum coreanum

Zanthoxylum simulans, the Chinese-pepper, Chinese prickly-ash or flatspine prickly-ash, is a flowering plant in the family Rutaceae, native to southern and central China, Taiwan, and South Korea. It is one of several species of Zanthoxylum from which Sichuan pepper is produced.

It is a spreading shrub or small tree growing to 7 m tall. The leaves are 7–12.5 cm long, pinnate, with 7–11 leaflets, the leaflets 3–5 cm long and 1.5–2 cm broad. There are numerous short (3–6 mm) spines on both the stems and the leaf petioles, and large (several cm) knobs on the branches. The flowers are produced in slender cymes, each flower about 4–5 mm diameter. The 3–4 mm berry has a rough reddish brown shell that splits open to release the black seeds from inside.

Leaves and fruit

Subspecies

Two subspecies are accepted.

• Zanthoxylum simulans subsp. calcareum Z.H.Chen, Feng Chen & W.Zhu – Zhejiang
• Zanthoxylum simulans subsp. simulans – central and southern China, South Korea, and Taiwan

Aromatic composition

• 1,8-Cineole, α-Terpineol, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Myrcene.

Notes and references

• Flora of Taiwan, volume 3 pages 541, 542 and 543
• NC State University fact sheet