''Zanthoxylum ailanthoides'', also called ailanthus-like prickly ash, (, lit. " Ailanthus-leaved pepper",; the name is obviously adaptation of latin ailanthoides "ailanthus-like" , lit. " Yue pepper",, p.503 食茱萸 ''shi zhu yu'',, 「澳名に食茱萸を当てる。からすのさんしょう..カラスザンセウ」(This dictionary states 食茱萸 as Cantonese for ''karasu-zansho''), p.462 gives 食菜萸 but probably mistype since this is not pronounced lit. "edible shān zhū yú"; ja, カラスザンショウ, からすのさんしょう ''karasu-zanshō, karasu-no-sanshō'', lit. "crow prickly ash") is an Asiatic plant of the prickly-ash genus ''Zanthoxylum'', natively occurring in forest-covered parts of southeastern China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and Japan from

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island se ...

southward. The piquant fruit serves as a local substitute for the ordinary red-pepper in China before the Columbian exchange. In Taiwan, the young leaves are used in cuisines. Though some refer to the species as "Japanese prickly-ash", that name is confusing since it is sometimes applied to the '' sanshō'' which is ''Z. piperitum''. ''Z. ailanthoides'' is not normally exploited for human consumption in Japan, except by the prehistoric people from the Jōmon period. It is foraged in the wild by the

Japanese macaque The Japanese macaque (''Macaca fuscata''), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. Colloquially, they are referred to as "snow monkeys" because some live in areas where snow covers the gr ...

. A regional nickname is ''tara'', and in fact, its young shoots are often mistaken for the true ''tara'' (''

Aralia elata ''Aralia elata'', the Japanese angelica tree, Chinese angelica-tree, or Korean angelica-tree, is a woody plant belonging to the family Araliaceae. It is known as ''tara-no-ki'' (; ) in Japanese, and ''dureup-namu'' () in Korean. Description It i ...

'') by gatherers of wild plants.p.64 The Latin name ''ailanthoides'' of the species comes from its leaves resembling those of the Ailanthus. Like other genera of plants in the rue family, it serves as the host food plant for the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e of several Asian swallowtail butterfly species, such as '' Papilio bianor'', ''

Papilio helenus ''Papilio helenus'', the red Helen, is a large swallowtail butterfly found in forests of southern India and parts of southeast Asia. Range ''Papilio helenus'' is rarely found in Sri Lanka, southern and north-east India, Nepal, Bhutan, Banglad ...

'', ''

Papilio protenor ''Papilio protenor'', the spangle, is a butterfly found in India belonging to the Swallowtail butterfly, swallowtail family. Morphology Male ''Upperside'': velvety indigo-blue black, duller on the forewing than on the hindwing. Forewing with pa ...

'', and ''

Papilio xuthus ''Papilio xuthus'', the Asian swallowtail, Chinese yellow swallowtail or Xuthus swallowtail, is a yellow-colored, medium to large sized swallowtail butterfly found in northeast Asia, northern Myanmar, southern China, Taiwan, the Korean Penins ...

''.

References

Sources

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* * Trees of China Trees of Japan Chinese condiments Taiwanese cuisine Herbs Leaf vegetables ailanthoides {{Rutaceae-stub