Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Uses (Ethnobotany)
Native Americans and early settlers reportedly chewed the bark and leaves of this tree as a toothache remedy (oils produce a tingling/numbing sensation in the mouth).
Plant Profile: Zanthoxylum clava-herculis
Taxonomy: Zanthoxylum clava-herculisNames
Hercules Club, Pepperbark, Prickly Ash, Southern Prickly-ash, Southern Toothache Tree, Tickle Tongue, Toothache Tree
Phonetic Spelling:zan-THOK-sil-um KLAV-uh HER-kew-lis
Genus:Zanthoxylum
Species:clava-herculis
Family:Rutaceae
The 'Hercules Club' is a fragrant tree characterized by its rounded canopy. This species is indigenous to the coastal plains of North Carolina, thriving in the light, sandy soils found in maritime forests, dunes, riverbanks, and on island bluffs. Notably, every part of the tree produces a numbing sensation when chewed, which is why it is often referred to as the 'Toothache Tree.'
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis Feature Summary
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis Image Gallery
Tags
#deciduous
#small tree
#full sun tolerant
#heat tolerant
#perennial
#shrub
#wildlife plant
#native tree
#moths
#green flowers
#yellow flowers
#tree
#native shrub
#spring flowers
#security
#flowering tree
#prickles
#moist soil
#food source
#NC native
#well-drained soil
#flowering shrub
#small and large mammals
#native garden
#coastal plants
#screening
#Braham Arboretum
#larval host plant
#fruits summer
#food source summer
#food source herbage
#coastal FAC
#Piedmont Mountains FAC
#sandy soils tolerant
#loamy soils tolerant
#fruits
#native
#bird friendly
#dry soils tolerant
#food source hard mast fruit
#loam
#butterfly friendly
#butterfly larvae
#moth larvae
#food source mid-summer
#songbirds
#sandy soil
#loamy soil
#larval host tree
#flowering
#host
#flowers
#host plant
#audubon
Similar Plants
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis Feature Summary
Attributes
Native Americans and early settlers reportedly chewed the bark and leaves of this tree as a toothache remedy (oils produce a tingling/numbing sensation in the mouth).
Coastal plains of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico from southern Virginia to mid-Florida west to Texas
Larval host plant of Giant Swallowtail butterflies (Papilio cresphontes), birds and small mammals enjoy the seeds. Attract butterflies.
Perennial
Woody
Wildlife Food Source
Attracts Pollinators
Wildlife Larval Host
Fruit
Follicles produced in clusters, individual fruits enclosed in a brown husk that splits open at maturity to reveal a shiny red-brown to black seed. In North Carolina, the fruits are available from July to September.
Follicle
Red/Burgundy
Brown/Copper
Summer
Flowers
Dioecious and tiny flowers that appear in early-spring. In North Carolina, the flowers are available from April to May.
White
Gold/Yellow
Green
Fragrant
Showy
Spring
Summer
4-5 petals/rays
Leaves
7-9 narrowly elliptical to lanceolate leaflets with round-pointed teeth & glabrous. Crushed leaves have a pungent odor.
Deciduous
Green
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Alternate
Lanceolate
> 6 inches
Leathery
Fragrant
Bark
Large spine-tipped corky-pyramidal projections, losing spines with age, stout green twigs changing from green to brown-green at maturity
Dark Gray
Light Gray
Dark Brown
Light Brown
Smooth
Stem
Stems are spiny. Twigs and leaf stems have thorns and trunk has large (up to 1") prickles.
Whole Plant Traits
Perennial
Shrub
Tree
Native Plant
Deciduous
Rounded
Low
Prickles
Cultural Conditions
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Good Drainage
Moist
Occasionally Dry
Coastal
Loam (Silt)
Sand
Landscape
Butterfly Garden
Pollinator Garden
Native Garden
Hedge
Screen/Privacy
Security
Heat
Dry Soil
Woodland
Coastal
Butterflies
Songbirds
Moths
Small Mammals
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis Image Gallery
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis Attributes
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Country Or Region Of Origin
U.S.A.
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Distribution
Coastal plains of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico from southern Virginia to mid-Florida west to Texas
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Wildlife Value
Larval host plant of Giant Swallowtail butterflies (Papilio cresphontes), birds and small mammals enjoy the seeds. Attract butterflies.
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Life Cycle
Annual
Biennial
Bulb
Perennial
Woody
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Play Value
Attractive Flowers
Attracts Pollinators
Buffer
Colorful
Defines Paths
Easy to Grow
Edible fruit
Fragrance
Pieces Used in Games
Screening
Shade
Sound
Textural
Wildlife Cover/Habitat
Wildlife Food Source
Wildlife Larval Host
Wildlife Nesting
Wind Break
Wind Shimmer
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis Fruit
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Fruit Description
Follicles produced in clusters, individual fruits enclosed in a brown husk that splits open at maturity to reveal a shiny red-brown to black seed. In North Carolina, the fruits are available from July to September.
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Fruit Type
Achene
Aggregate
Berry
Capsule
Caryopsis
Drupe
Follicle
Legume
Nut
Pome
Samara
Schizocarp
Siliqua
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Fruit Color
Brown/Copper
Red/Burgundy
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Display/Harvest Time
Fall
Spring
Summer
Winter
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis Flowers
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Flower Description
Dioecious and tiny flowers that appear in early-spring. In North Carolina, the flowers are available from April to May.
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Flower Color
Gold/Yellow
Green
White
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Flower Value To Gardener
Edible
Fragrant
Good Cut
Good Dried
Long Bloom Season
Long-lasting
Showy
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Flower Bloom Time
Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Flower Petals
2-3 rays/petals
4-5 petals/rays
6 petals/rays
7 - 20 petals/rays
asymmetrical petals
Bracts
Colored Sepals
fused petals
more than 20 petals/rays
Tepals
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis Leaves
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Leaf Description
7-9 narrowly elliptical to lanceolate leaflets with round-pointed teeth & glabrous. Crushed leaves have a pungent odor.
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics
Broadleaf Evergreen
Deciduous
Needled Evergreen
Semi-evergreen
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Leaf Color
Green
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Leaf Type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Fronds
Needles
Sheath
Simple
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Leaf Arrangement
Alternate
Opposite
Other/more complex
Rosulate
Whorled
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Leaf Shape
Acicular
Auriculate
Cordate
Cuneate
Deltoid
Elliptical
Filiform
Lanceolate
Linear
Oblanceolate
Oblong
Obovate
Obtuse
Orbicular
Ovate
Palmasect
Palmatifid
Peltate
Pinnatifid
Pinnatisect
Reniform
Rhomboidal
Spatulate
Subcordate
Subulate
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Hairs Present
No
Yes
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Leaf Length
< 1 inch
1-3 inches
3-6 inches
> 6 inches
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Leaf Feel
Fleshy
Glossy
Leathery
Papery
Prickly
Rough
Rubbery
Slippery
Smooth
Soft
Velvety
Waxy
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Leaf Value To Gardener
Edible
Fragrant
Good Cut
Good Dried
Long-lasting
Showy
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis Bark
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Bark Description
Large spine-tipped corky-pyramidal projections, losing spines with age, stout green twigs changing from green to brown-green at maturity
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Bark Color
Dark Brown
Dark Gray
Light Brown
Light Gray
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Surface/Attachment
Bumpy
Exfoliating
Fissured
Furrowed
Lenticels
Papery
Patchy
Peeling
Ridges
Scaly
Shaggy
Shiny
Shredding
Smooth
Spongy
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis Stem
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Stem Description
Stems are spiny. Twigs and leaf stems have thorns and trunk has large (up to 1") prickles.
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Stem Is Aromatic
No
Yes
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis Whole Plant Traits
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Plant Type
Annual
Bulb
Carnivorous
Edible
Epiphyte
Fern
Ground Cover
Herb
Herbaceous Perennial
Houseplant
Mushroom
Native Plant
Ornamental Grasses and Sedges
Perennial
Poisonous
Rose
Shrub
Succulent
Tree
Turfgrass
Vegetable
Vine
Water Plant
Weed
Wildflower
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics
Broadleaf Evergreen
Deciduous
Needled Evergreen
Semi-evergreen
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Habit/Form
Arching
Ascending
Broad
Cascading
Climbing
Clumping
Columnar
Conical
Creeping
Dense
Erect
Horizontal
Irregular
Mounding
Multi-stemmed
Multi-trunked
Open
Oval
Prostrate
Pyramidal
Rounded
Spreading
Vase
Weeping
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Maintenance
Low
Medium
High
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Appendage
Prickles
Spines
Tendrils
Thorns
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis Cultural Conditions
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Light
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day)
Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Soil Drainage
Frequent Standing Water
Good Drainage
Moist
Occasional Flooding
Occasionally Dry
Occasionally Wet
Very Dry
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: NC Region
Coastal
Mountains
Piedmont
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Soil Texture
Clay
High Organic Matter
Loam (Silt)
Sand
Shallow Rocky
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis Landscape
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Landscape Theme
Asian Garden
Butterfly Garden
Children's Garden
Cottage Garden
Cutting Garden
Drought Tolerant Garden
Edible Garden
English Garden
Fairy Garden
Garden for the Blind
Native Garden
Nighttime Garden
Pollinator Garden
Rain Garden
Rock Garden
Shade Garden
Water Garden
Winter Garden
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Design Feature
Accent
Barrier
Border
Flowering Tree
Foundation Planting
Hedge
Mass Planting
Screen/Privacy
Security
Shade Tree
Small groups
Small Tree
Specimen
Street Tree
Understory Tree
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Resistance To Challenges
Black Walnut
Compaction
Deer
Diseases
Drought
Dry Soil
Erosion
Fire
Foot Traffic
Heat
Heavy Shade
Humidity
Insect Pests
Pollution
Poor Soil
Rabbits
Salt
Slugs
Squirrels
Storm damage
Urban Conditions
Voles
Wet Soil
Wind
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Landscape Location
Coastal
Container
Hanging Baskets
Houseplants
Lawn
Meadow
Naturalized Area
Near Septic
Patio
Pond
Pool/Hardscape
Recreational Play Area
Riparian
Rock Wall
Slope/Bank
Small Space
Vertical Spaces
Walkways
Woodland
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis: Attracts
Bats
Bees
Butterflies
Frogs
Hummingbirds
Moths
Pollinators
Predatory Insects
Reptiles
Small Mammals
Songbirds
Specialized Bees
