Common Pricklyash, (Zanthoxylum americanum)
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Common Pricklyash, Zanthoxylum americanum (E) with ash leaves, is a shrub found along fences and at the edges of forests. It reproduces by root suckers forming dense and impenetrable colonies. It likes light, but tolerates moderate shade well. Its distribution area is southern Ontario and Quebec. Its leaves are deciduous, alternate, compound and pinnate with 5 to 11 leaflets on a spiny central petiole. Leaves and central petiole are 10 to 20 cm long. The twigs are rigid in shape and give off a strong lemony odor when bruised. There are 2 spines at the base of the leaves. The color of the branches is dark brown.
The gray or brown bark with paler spots, is smooth and becomes grooved with age, the wood is hard and yellow in color. The small flowers are in inflorescences on the twigs of the previous year. They are greenish in color. The small, rounded fruits have a spicy odor and have 1 or 2 black, shiny seeds. The fruits measure 4 to 5 mm and are bright red in color.
