Hercules'-club
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis
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Form
Hercules'-club form
Habitat
Leaves
Hercules'-club leaf with spines along the rachis Hercules'-club leaflets with spines along the rachis
Twigs
Hercules'-club twigs Hercules'-club twigs
Bark
Hercules club bark Hercules club bark: detail Hercules club bark: detail
Flowers
Hercules'-club flowers (buds)
Fruit
  • FAMILY: RUTACEAE
  • ALTERNATE COMMON NAMES: prickly ash, toothache tree
  • LEAVES: alternate, deciduous; pinnately compound with spines along rachis; glands on margins have a citrus odor
  • FLOWER:
  • FRUIT: capsule ¼” in diameter, black; shiny black seed pops out when ripe in the fall
  • TWIGS: spines
  • BARK: smooth and grey; corky pyramidal growths, each with a spine; inner barks numbs the mouth when chewed
  • FORM: small, rough tree
  • HABITAT: moist, well-drained sites; common in marshes on spoil banks
  • WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative (FAC): Occurs in wetlands or non-wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region
  • RANGE: southeast US coastal plains
  • USES: seeds eaten by wildlife; folk-remedy for toothaches
    • Best Recognition Features:
    1. pyramidal warts with spines on trunk
    2. spines on rachis
    3. citrus odor from leaves
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