Wild Lime Prickly Ash
Zanthoxylum fagara
Plant Family: Rutaceae
Leaves: Alternate, once-compound, the petiole and rachis are obviously winged, with 7 to 11 rounded leaflets.
Bark: Light brown, sharp prickles are present on the branches and trunk.
Flowers: Dioecious, small, greenish-yellow, in short, dense clusters in the leaf axils; spring.
Fruits: Green to brown follicles in the leaf axils, each contains a single black seed; summer to fall.
Habitat: Found in the understory and on the edges of south Florida and Keys hammocks.
Growth Form: Shrub to small tree.
Similar Species: Distinguished from other Zanthoxylum species by the winged leaves with an odd number of leaflets.
Comments: Wild Lime is a shrubby tree that ranges north in Florida to the central part of the state; it also occurs in Texas and Mexico; the crushed leaves have an aroma of limes; it is a host plant for the Giant Swallowtail butterfly.
