prickly ash

noun

1. Also called Northern prickly ash, a citrus shrub or small tree, Zanthoxylum americanum, having aromatic leaves and usually prickly branches.
2. Hercules-club ( def 2 ).

prickly ash

noun

1. a North American rutaceous shrub or small tree, Zanthoxylum americanum, having prickly branches, feathery aromatic leaves, and bark used as a remedy for toothache Also calledtoothache tree

Word History and Origins

Origin of prickly ash¹

An Americanism dating back to 1700–10

Example Sentences

After weeks of lockdown privation, the more iron-stomached among China’s diners craved a proper Sichuan-style hot pot, with fiery chili peppers and mouth-numbing prickly ash pods bobbing across a cauldron of red broth.

From Washington Post

A morsel swiped in the dark red sauce, lightly numbing with prickly ash and roaring with fried chiles, finds you speed eating like a cartoon character.

From Washington Post

Its garnish of wok-roasted prickly ash has the same pleasant numbing effect on the tongue as Sichuan peppercorns.

From Washington Post

Sichuan peppercorns, the dried seed pods of the prickly ash, are actually not a kind of pepper, but a spice that delivers tongue-tingling heat with a citrus accent.

From New York Times

They’re the dried citrus berries of the prickly ash tree, and they produce sensations unlike anything you’ll experience from a standard black peppercorn.

From Washington Post