Zanthoxylum planispinum
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''Zanthoxylum armatum'', also called winged prickly ash or rattan pepper in English, is a species of plant in the family Rutaceae. It is an aromatic, deciduous, spiny
shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
growing to in height, endemic from Pakistan across to Southeast Asia and up to Korea and
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. It is one of the sources of the spice Sichuan pepper, and also used in folk medicine, essential oil production and as an ornamental garden plant.


Description

The plant grows as a woody climber, a shrub or a tree, up to in height. It is deciduous, with subsessile, opposite leaves of lanceolate, obovate or elliptic shape. Branchlets and leaves have prickles/spines. The young branchlets and inflorescence rachises are glabrous or the young branches are sparsely pubescent. The rachis of the leaves is pubescent glabrous or rust-colored and has wings to 6 mm on each side, hence it common English name, this is one of the anatomical features distinguishing it from other ''Zanthoxylum'' species. Other anatomically separating features are generally faint secondary veins of leaflet blades, especially adaxially, with 7-15 on each side of midvein; the anthers of the male flowers are yellow before anthesis; and the gynoecium of the female flowers is 1-3-carpelled. Fruit follicles are purplish-red, about 4-5mm in diameter, while the seeds are black and 3-4mm in size. The shrub flowers in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
from April to May, and fruits from August to October, in Nepal it flowers during the same months, while the fruit is available all year round. In India, flowering is from March to April.


Taxonomy

The species was described by the eminent Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1824. The plant has an accepted infraspecific, ''Zanthoxylum armatum'' var. ''ferrugineum'' (
Rehder Rehder is a German surname. Notable people with this surname include the following: * Alfred Rehder (1863–1949), German-American botanist and Harvard professor * Elke Rehder (born 1953), German artist * Harald Alfred Rehder (1907–1996), Ameri ...
& E.H.Wilson) C.C.Huang. This variety has rust-coloured pubescent young branchlets and inflorescence rachises distinguishing it from the nominative variety.


Distribution

The small tree is native to parts of East and Southeast Asia, and the north of the Indian sub-continent and naturalised in several regions. Regions where it occurs are:
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
; Nansei-shoto/Ryukyu Islands; Korea; North-Central, South-Central & Southeast China, specifically Anhui, Fujian, South
Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
, Guangdong,
Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...
, Guizhou, South Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi,
Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
, South
Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan, and Zhejiang; northern Taiwan; Philippines; Vietnam;
Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
; Thailand;
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
; Bangladesh; India, including Assam; Bhutan; Nepal; Tibet; the Eastern and Western Himalayas; Kashmir; and Pakistan, and possibly Indonesia. It has been naturalised in Northeast Argentina and the North Caucasus. The variety ''ferrugineum'' occurs in North-Central, South-Central & Southeast China, specifically in Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Yunnan.


Habitat & Ecology

''Z. armatum'' grows in many habitats below 3100m. In the Salyan District, Nepal, the shrub grows in the understorey of lower altitude '' Pinus roxburghii'' forests, alongside '' Aesculus indica'' and '' Bassia latifolia'', and in higher altitude oak forests ('' Quercus incana'' & '' Q. lanuginosa''), where they associate with ''
Rhododendron arboreum ''Rhododendron arboreum'', the tree rhododendron, is an evergreen shrub or small tree with a showy display of bright red flowers. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Thailand. It is the national flower of ...
'' & '' Lyonia ovalifolia''. Birds like the fruits and widely disseminate the plants.


Vernacular Names

''Z. armatum'' is known by a number of vernacular names. In China, the plant and its fresh berries are known as ''téngjiāo'' (), while the dried seeds are known as ''qinghuajiao'' () or ''majiao'' (). Other names include: ''Qanadlı zantoksilum'' (
Azerbaijani Azerbaijani may refer to: * Something of, or related to Azerbaijan * Azerbaijanis * Azerbaijani language See also * Azerbaijan (disambiguation) * Azeri (disambiguation) * Azerbaijani cuisine * Culture of Azerbaijan The culture of Azerbaijan ...
); Dambara in Pashto, तेजफल ''tejphal'', ''darmar'', ''tumru'', ''timroo'', ''trimal'' ( Hindi); ꯃꯨꯛꯊ꯭ꯔꯨꯕꯤ মুক্থ্ৰূবী ''mukthrubi'' ( Manipuri) ; तिमुर ''timur'' (
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...
) ; ''konda-kasimi'' (
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
) ; ಜಿಮ್ಮೀ ''jimmi'' ( Kannada) ; തൂമ്പണലരി ( Malayalam); ''hokum'' ( Adi); ''ganya'' ( Angami) ; ''winged prickly ash'', ''prickly ash'', ''toothache tree'', ''yellow wood'', ''suterberry'' ( English) ; ''tumbru'', ''tejbal'' (other names in India) ; ''arhrikreh'' (
Mizo Mizo may refer to: *Mizo people, an ethnic group native to north-eastern India, western Myanmar (Burma) and eastern Bangladesh *Mizo language, a language spoken by the Mizo people *Mizoram, a state in Northeast India *Lusei people, an ethnic group ...
) ; टिमुर ''timur'' (
Nepali Nepali or Nepalese may refer to : Concerning Nepal * Anything of, from, or related to Nepal * Nepali people, citizens of Nepal * Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...
); หมักก้าก, ''hui-jiao'' (
Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...
) ; Sẻn gai ( Vietnamese); 竹叶花椒, 毛竹叶花椒, ''zhu ye hua jiao'' (
Standard Chinese Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern Standar ...
) ; ''flügelstachelige Stachelesche'' (
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
). and The variety ''ferrugineum'' has the name 毛竹叶花椒 ''mao zhu ye hua jiao'' in
Standard Chinese Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern Standar ...
.


Uses

The fruit and seeds of the plant are used as a spice, '' Sichuan pepper'' while the bark, fruit and seeds are used in indigenous medicines in India, Nepal and Thailand. The plant is also a source of an essential oil, ''Wartara Oil'', and the shrub is also grown as an ornamental garden plant. In the Silyan district of Nepal, the parts used in medicine are harvested primarily of export to India. The plants grow in state-controlled, community-controlled and private lands, resulting in a variety of access regimes, harvesting regimes and management practices, leading to a conclusion that in general the effects of supply and demand on Non-timber forest products (NTFP) cannot be generalised, but are specific to each product and place. Extracts have been shown to inhibit the growth of Porphyromonas gingivalis – the main bacteria involved in Periodontal disease and suspected cause of
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
.


Literature

Additional information is contained in the following: *Arana, M.D. & Oggero, A.J. (2009). Zanthoxylum armatum (Rutaceae), su presencia en Argentina Darwiniana 47: 335-338. *Balkrishna, A. (2018). Flora of Morni Hills (Research & Possibilities): 1-581. Divya Yoga Mandir Trust. *Barooah, C. & Ahmed, I. (2014). Plant diversity of Assam. A checklist of Angiosperms and Gymnosperms: 1-599. Assam science technology and environment council, India. *Chang, C.S., Kim, H. & Chang, K.S. (2014). Provisional checklist of vascular plants for the Korea peninsula flora (KPF): 1-660. DESIGNPOST. *Chowdhery, H. J. & B. M. Wadhwa. 1984. Flora of Himachal Pradesh. *Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. 1976. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products. Raw materials. 11:18-21. *Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs *Editorial Committee of the Flora of Taiwan. 1993-. Flora of Taiwan, ed. 2. *Encke, F. et al. 1993. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 14. Auflage *Facciola, S. 1990. Cornucopia, a source book of edible plants Kampong Publications. *Grierson, A.J.C. & Long, D.G. (2001). Flora of Bhutan 2: 1-1675. Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh. *Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal. *Hartley, T. G. 1966. A revision of the Malesian species of Zanthoxylum (Rutaceae). J. Arnold Arbor. 47:211. *Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening *Iwatsuki, K., Boufford, D.E. & Ohba, H. (eds.) (1999). Flora of Japan IIc: 1-328. Kodansha Ltd., Tokyo. *Kala, C. P. et al. 2004. Prioritization of medicinal plants on the basis of available knowledge, existing practices and use value status in Uttaranchal, India. Biodivers. & Conservation 13:459. URL: http://www.springer.com/life+sciences/evolutionary+%26+developmental+biology/journal/10531 *Kress, W.J., DeFilipps, R.A., Farr, E. & Kyi, D.Y.Y. (2003). A Checklist of the Trees, Shrubs, Herbs and Climbers of Myanmar Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 45: 1-590. Smithsonian Institution. *Lê, T.C. (2005). Danh lục các loài thục vật Việt Nam hecklist of Plant Species of Vietnam3: 1-1248. Hà Noi : Nhà xu?t b?n Nông nghi?p. *McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland. *Nasir, E. & Ali, S.I. (eds.) (1970-1995). Flora of West Pakistan 1-131. *Nobis, M. & al. (2019). Contribution to the flora of Asian and European countries: new national and regional vascular plant records, 8 Botany Letters 166: 153-188. *Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of India. *Walters, S. M. et al., eds. 1986-2000. European garden flora. *Wu, Z. & Raven, P.H. (eds.) (2008). Flora of China 11: 1-622. Science Press (Beijing) & Missouri Botanical Garden Press (St. Louis).


References


Plants for a Future entry


{{Taxonbar, from=Q6170892 armatum Flora of China Flora of Eastern Asia Flora of tropical Asia Medicinal plants of Asia Peppers Plants described in 1824 Spices