About Zanthoxylum clava-herculis L.
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis L. is also sometimes classified under the synonym Z. macrophyllum, and its genus name is occasionally spelled Xanthoxylum. This species reaches 10 to 17 meters in height when growing as a tree. Its bark has distinctive thick, spined corky lumps that measure 2 to 3 centimeters long. The leaves are glabrous, leathery, and pinnately compound, with an overall length of 20 to 30 centimeters. Each leaf holds 7 to 19 leaflets, and individual leaflets are 4 to 5 centimeters long. This tree produces dioecious flowers arranged in panicles that can grow up to 20 centimeters long. Individual flowers are small, measuring 6 to 8 millimeters across, and have 3 to 5 white petals. The fruit it produces is a two-valved capsule 6 millimeters in diameter, with a rough surface that holds several small black seeds. Along with the closely related Zanthoxylum americanum, this tree is often called "toothache tree" or "tingle tongue". Chewing its leaves, bark, or twigs causes a tingling numbness in the mouth, tongue, teeth, and gums. Native Americans and early settlers used this plant for medicinal purposes to treat toothache based on this effect.
