Object Details
Description
The toothache tree looks similar to an ash, but is actually a member of the citrus family. This relationship is more noticeable in the plant’s scent than its appearance, as all parts of the toothache tree give off a lemony smell. The curious common name of the toothache tree comes from one of its many medicinal uses; many Native Americans in the plant’s range would chew the bark or berries of this plant if they had a toothache, for its numbing effect. This numbing quality is also found in a famous member of the Zanthoxylum genus - the Sichuan pepper tree. It is interesting how trees on opposite sides of the world can both have such similar numbing properties.
The toothache tree is Endangered in Florida, Maryland, and New Hampshire, and of Special Concern in Tennessee.
Hardiness
-40 - 10 F
Attracts
Birds, butterflies
Bloom Time
April
Ethnobotanical Uses
Fruit used as peppery spice in cooking. Young men of the Omaha tribe used the fruit as a perfume.
Medicinal / Pharmaceutical
Some Native Americans chewed the bark or fruits of this plant for its numbing effect, to treat toothache. Parts of the plant were also used to create medicines for fever, cough, gonorrhea, rheumatism, induce miscarriage, treat pain after childbirth, and external wounds.
Provenance
Uncertain
Accession Number
2011-1040A
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Life Form
Deciduous tree
Average Height
15-20'
Bark Characteristics
Dark brown with prickles
Bloom Characteristics
Green-yellow, fragrant flowers grow on old wood. Bloom before the leaves emerge.
Dioecious
Yes.
Fall Color
Yellow
Foliage Characteristics
Compound, odd-pinnate, dark green leaves have 5-11 leaflets. Have sharp prickles. Leaves 1' long.
Fruit Characteristics
Round, red-brown, berry-like fruits mature in late summer and contain 1-2 black seeds per follicle. When the seeds mature they hang from the split capsules. .2" long.
Range
E. US; E. Canada
Habitat
Upland rocky hillsides, moist lowlying sites, open woods, bluffs, thickets
See more items in
Smithsonian Gardens Tree Collection
On Display
National Museum of Natural History
Common Name
common pricklyash
Northern prickly ash
prickly ash
toothache tree
Group
[vascular plants]
Class
Equisetopsida
Subclass
Magnoliidae
Superorder
Rosanae
Order
Sapindales
Family
Rutaceae
Genus
Zanthoxylum
Species
americanum
Data Source
Smithsonian Gardens
Topic
Trees
Living Collections
Link to Original Record
Record ID
ofeo-sg_2011-1040A