ZAXTHORHIZA 



ZAXTHOXYLUM 



3537 



ZANTHORHLZA (Greek, ydlow root). Often spelled 

 Xanthorrhlza. Ranunculaceae. Shrubby plants cultivated 

 mostly for their handsome foliage, which is much like 

 that of Actsea, and which changes to a beautiful golden 

 color in the autumn. 



Leaves pinnate or bipinnate : fls. in drooping racemes 

 or panicles; sepals 5, petal-like, deciduous; petals 5, 

 smaller than the sepals, and 2-lobed; stamens 5-10; 



4032. Zanthorhiza apiifolia. (XH) 



carpels 10. sessile, forming only 1-seeded follicles, 1 

 ovule of each usually not maturing. One species, E. 

 from X. Y. to Ha. 



The plants will grow readily in any good soil but 

 usually prefer damp and shady places, although they 

 often thrive in loose sandy soil. Propagated both by 

 seed and root-division in autumn or early spring. The 

 seeds should be sown in a well-prepared seed-bed as the 

 young seedlings are rather delicate. If sown in early 

 autumn they may be given partial shade to advantage. 

 Old plants when divided are easily grown, and for this 

 reason root-division is often preferred. Often not hardy 

 in Massachusetts and extreme northern states. 



apiifdlia, L'Her. SHRUB YELLOW-ROOT. Fig. 4032. 

 Sts. of bright yellow wood, 1-20 ft. high: roots yellow, 

 sending up suckers in spring: Ivs. in clusters from 

 terminal buds; Ifts. about 5, cut-toothed or lobed, with 

 wedge-shaped bases and entire sinuses: fls. small, dark 

 or purple. April. Damp and shady places. A.G. 12 : 

 289. Var. ternata, Huth. Lvs. only ternate; Ifts. often 

 more deeply lobed, the sinuses entire. Same distribu- 



K. C. DAVIS. 



ZANTHOXYLUM (Greek, xanthos, yeUow, and 

 xylon, wood). Also spelled Xanthoxylum. Including 

 Fagdra. Rutacese. Ornamental woody plants chiefly 

 planted for their handsome foliage and for their orna- 

 mental fruits. 



Deciduous or evergreen shrubs, sometimes sarmen- 

 tose, or trees, with usually prickly branches; most parts, 

 particularly the frs., emitting a strong aromatic odor 

 when bruised: Ivs. alternate, odd-pinnate, 3-foliolate 

 or rarely simple: fls. dioecious or polygamous, small, in 

 cymes or panicles; sepals, petals, and stamens 3-8, 

 sepals often wanting; pistils 3-5: fr. composed of 1-5 

 separate small dehiscent caps., each with 1-2 shining 

 black seeds. The genus contains about 150 species in 



the tropical and subtropical regions of both hemispheres, 

 and a few in temperate regions. Several species are 

 used medicinally. The wood of some W. Indian species 

 and that of the Australian Z. brachyacanthum is con- 

 sidered valuable. The frs. of Z. piperitum are used like 

 pepper in Japan. 



The zanthoxylums in cultivation are prickly shrubs 

 or rarely small trees with mostly deciduous odd-pin- 

 nate, medium-sized or rather small foliage and small 

 greenish or whitish flowers in small, rarely large, axil- 

 lary or terminal clusters, followed by usually reddish 

 small pods disclosing lustrous black seeds at maturity. 

 Z. americanum is the only species which is hardy North, 

 while the species from eastern Asia, as Z. schinifolium, 

 Z, Bungei, and Z. (datum var. planispinum, have proved 

 fairly hardy in favorable positions as far north as 

 Massachusetts, the first being the hardiest, but they 

 probably will be perfectly hardy in the Middle Atlantic 

 states. They do not seem to be particular as to the 

 soil, but grow best in a well-drained soil and sunny 

 position. Propagation is by seeds and by suckers or 

 root-cuttings. 



A. Rackis not or very narrowly winged. 



B. Fls. before the Ivs., in axillary fascicles. 



americanum, Mill. (Z. fraxinevm, Willd. Z. romi- 



flbrum, Michx.). PRICKLY ASH. Fig. 4033. Shrub or 



small tree, attaining 25 ft., with prickly branches: Ifts. 



5-11, opposite, almost sessile, ovate, entire or crenulate, 



dark green above, lighter and pubescent beneath, 



lJ^-2 in. long: fls. small, greenish, in axillary sessile 



clusters, appearing shortly before the Ivs.: seeds black. 



Que. to Neb. and Va. B.B. (ed. 2) 2:444. 



BB. Fls. after the Ivs., in terminal corymbs. 



c. Prickles solitary. 



schinifolium, Sieb. & Zucc. Shrub or small tree, to 

 20 ft,: Ivs. 3-7 in. long, glabrous; Ifts. 13-21, elliptic- 

 lanceolate to lanceolate, narrowed into a short stalk, 

 minutely emarginate at the 

 apex, crenate-serrulate, %-lJ^ 

 in. long: fls. minute, with sepals 

 and petals in terminal short- 

 stalked clusters, 2-4 in. across: 

 fr. greenish or brownish. June; 

 fr. in autumn. Japan, Korea, 

 S.I.F. 2:33. Sometimes cult, 

 under the name of the follow- 

 ing; handsomer in foliage and 

 hardier. 



cc. Prickles in pairs. 



piperitum, DC. Shrub or 

 small tree; prickles rather slen- 

 der, ascending: Ivs. 2-6 in. 

 long, with puberulous rachis; 

 Ifts. 11-19, ovate to oblong- 

 ovate, narrowed into a short 

 stalk, emarginate at the apex, 

 remotely toothed, with con- 

 spicuous glands at the base of 

 each tooth, midrib pubescent 

 above, J^-1H in. long: fls. with 

 simple perianth, in small 

 corymbs J^-lH in. across, on 

 short lateral branchlets; style 

 slender: fr. reddish, glandular-dotted. Japan, Korea, N. 

 China. June; fr. in Sept. S.I.F. 1:52. The wood, ac- 

 cording to Issa Tanimura, is dense and heavy with 

 deep yellow grain; tree commonly cult, in Japan for 

 ornament, to make utensils, and for food; the seeds and 

 inner bark are cooked or pickled; the fresh Ivs. are 

 added to soup; and the dried fr. used on roasted fish 

 as a fragrant pepper. 



Bungei, Planch. (Z. Bungeanum, Maxim.). Spreading 

 shrub or small tree; prickles stout, flattened, very broad 



4033. Leaf of prickly ash. 



Zanthoxylum americanum. 



