Zanthoxylum fagara

taxobox
name = "Lime Prickly-ash"
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Eudicots
unranked_ordo = Rosids
ordo = Sapindales
familia = Rutaceae
genus = "Zanthoxylum"
species = "Z. fagara"
binomial = "Zanthoxylum fagara"
binomial_authority = Gard. & Forest|

Lime Prickly-ash ("Zanthoxylum fagara") is a species of plant in the Rutaceae family. It ranges from southern Texas and Florida south through the Caribbean and Central America to Paraguay. [ [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?417586 Zanthoxylum fagara information from NPGS/GRIN ] ]

It is a spreading shrub or small tree growing to 7 m tall. The trunk is generally rough with gray bark and grows to about 0.25 m in diameter. The irregularly-shaped branches contain hooked spines with pinnate 5 cm leaves. [http://hort.ufl.edu/shrubs/ZANFAGA.PDF] The leaves and bark can be crushed to make a bitter-tasting condiment, and much of the tree smells similar to citrus. [ [http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/nativeshrubs/zanthoxylumfagar.htm Texas Native Plants Database ] ] Lime Prickly-ash has a high drought tolerance and grows best in full sun, but it can also survive as an understory shrub. It provides significant food and cover for native wildlife and the leaves host the larvae of many butterflies, such as "Papilio cresphontes". [ [http://www.regionalconservation.org/beta/nfyn/plantdetail.asp?tx=Zantfaga IRC - Natives for Your Neighborhood ] ]

References