XmitlioTijlmii fraxlncinn, 



THE ASII-LEAVED XANTIIOXYLUM. 



Zanthoxylum clava htraiUs, 

 ZiintlwTyhim fraxiiieiim, 

 Zanthoxylum anuricanuvi, 



Xantlwxyhim fraxineum, 



Synonymcs. 



LiNN^cs, Species Plantarum. 



BiGEi.ow, Wcilical Botany. 



ToKREY AND Gkay, Flora of North America. 



IWiLi,DENOw, Linna^i Species Flautarum. 

 De Candoi.lic, PnMlromiis. 

 LouDo.v, Arboretum Brilannicum. 

 Clavalicr a fcuillos <le frene, France. 



Eschenblattriger Zahnwehliolz, Germany. 



Fras^ino spinoso, Italy. 



Prickly Ash, Thorny Ash, New York. 



Toothache-tree, Great Prickly Yellow-wood, Other parts of Anglo-America. 



Den'ralions. The specific name, /raxineiim, is derived from the Latin frarinua, the ash, from the resemblance of the 

 leaves of this tree to those of the ash. The French name signifies Ashleaved Club-tree; and the German one, Ash-IeaveU 

 Toolhache-lrce. 



Engraringa. Bigelow, Medical Botany, pi. 59; Caiesby, Natural History of Carolina, vol. I., pi. 26. ; Loudun, Arboretum 

 Brilannicum, vol. i., figure IM; and the figures below. 



Specific Characters. Leaves pinnate, of 4 to 5 pairs of leaflets, and an odd one ; the leaflets orate, 

 obscurely sawed, equal at the base ; the petiole round and devoid of prickles ; prickles in the situation 

 of stipules. Flowers in axillary umbels without petals. The sexes dioecious. Dt Candolle, Prodromus. 



Descriptloji. 



" That unpitying pain 

 Which plucks the nerves, close-sealing with a frown 

 Ev'n beauty's lips, which the bold Ayrshire bard 

 Wish'd in his patriot vengeance to entail 

 On Caledonia's foes, yielded its rage 

 To the rough genius of that lofty tree, 

 Whose yellow armour bears in countless studs 

 The horrid thorn." 



Traits of the Aborigines. 



HE Xanthoxylum frax- 

 ineum usually grows to a 

 height of twelve or fifteen 

 feet, and sometimes to more 

 height. Its trunk ramifies 

 and then 

 The whole 



ground. 



than double that 

 some distance above the 

 branches out into a regular head 

 tree, when young, is armed with powerful 

 prickles, which are thick at the base, and| 

 angular and sharp at the point, but become 

 less so when old. The leaves are pinnate, a 

 foot in length, often nearly glabrous when 

 mature, and sometimes tomentose beneath ; 

 and in the place of stipules, there are straight 

 thorns a third of an inch in length. The 

 flowers, which appear in April, May, or June, 

 are of a greenish or yellowish colour, with 

 red anthers, and are succeeded by capsules 

 containing large black seeds. 



Variety. A tree is recognized by botanists as belonging to this genus, grow- 

 mg in North America, which does not differ from the present species, except in 

 being thornless, and may bear the name of Xanthoxylum fraxineum mite. 



