Zanthoxylum clava-herculis

Hercules-club

Rutaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:	Tree
Size:	10 to 25 (50) ft tall by 10-25 ft wide
Life Span:	Long-lived perennial
Flower Color:	White
Fruit Color:	Yellow
Phenology:	Deciduous. Blooms in spring. Fruit ripens in fall.
Noted for:	Interesting bark, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage, Thorns

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:	Specimen tree.
Considerations:	Quite thorny.
Propagation:	Seed.
Availability:	Native nurseries, Seed
Light:	Full Sun,  Part Shade
Moisture Tolerance:	always floodedextremely dry
	(Usually moist, occasional inundation ----- to ----- Somewhat long very dry periods)
Moisture Tolerance:	Usually moist, occasional inundation ----- to ----- Somewhat long very dry periods
Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:	Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Salt Spray/ Salty Soil Tolerance:	Moderate. Tolerant of salty wind and may get some salt spray. Exposure to salt spray would be uncommon (major storms).
Soil or other substrate:	Clay, Loam, Sand
Soil pH:

Ecology

Wildlife:	Birds and other wildlife eat the fruit.
Insects:	Larval host for giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes).
Native Habitats:	Hammocks, wet woods, dunes, shell middens.

Distribution and Planting Zones

Comments

Ethnobotany:	The bitter aromatic bark was used for toothaches.
General Comments:	Wood is quite soft and weak.  This author had one break in a storm.  It did however resprout from low on the trunk and the sprout is now about 15 ft tal.