zanthoxylum

/ zænˈθɒksɪləm /

noun

1. any rutaceous shrub or tree of the genus Zanthoxylum, of temperate and subtropical E Asia and North America: includes the prickly ash and the West Indian yellowwood (or satinwood)

Word History and Origins

Origin of zanthoxylum¹

C19: zantho- variant of xantho- + Greek xulon wood

Example Sentences

You experience that texture as a buzzing current through your mouth and lips, thanks to a molecule called hydroxy-alpha sanshool found in Sichuan peppercorns, which grow on Zanthoxylum simulans and Z. bungeanum, both shrubs in the citrus family.

From New York Times

The ban included Sichuan pepper, since the Zanthoxylum genus and its numerous edible species of Sichuan pepper are not actually in the pepper family but are a form of citrus.

From Slate

The spice is not related to other peppercorns; rather, it is the berry of a small prickly tree that’s part of the citrus family in the genus Zanthoxylum.

From Seattle Times

Sichuan peppercorns, the dried fruit rinds from some Zanthoxylum trees, provide another form of nonpepper pepper.

From Slate

Other species present on the forested slopes include Tabebuia Donnell-Smithi, Zanthoxylum melanostictum, Pithecolobium arboreum, and a species of Pterocarpus.

From Project Gutenberg