Northern Toothache Tree
Zanthoxylum americanum
Found in woodlands, forests, and glade margins over calcareous or mafic rocks, often forming extensive colonies near outcrops. Sometimes planted. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 15–20 feet
- Spread
- 10–15 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
Space about 12.5 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- March to May
- Fruiting season
- July to August
Recorded in 4 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone
Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits
Glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock
Open, thin-soil openings, outcrops and cliffs on dark, magnesium- or iron-rich rock such as serpentine, diabase or gabbro.
Who uses this plant?
9CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Zanthoxylum
- Cryptothelea gloveriiOrange Bagworm
- Dichomeris citrifoliellaOrange Webworm Moth
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Papilio andraemonBahama Swallowtail
- Papilio cresphontesEastern Giant Swallowtail
- Papilio glaucusEastern Tiger Swallowtail
- Papilio ponceanaSchaus Swallowtail
- Papilio troilusSpicebush Swallowtail
5BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Zanthoxylum
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
6BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Zanthoxylum
- Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
- Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
- Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
- Leptotila verreauxiWhite-tipped Dove
- Vireo olivaceusRed-eyed Vireo
- Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Rutaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–7
- Soil pH
- Neutral
- Flower color
- White or green
- Fruit begins
- July
- Fruit ends
- August
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “March to May” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White or green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 3–7” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
- Height · “15–20 feet” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil pH · “Neutral” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Spread · “10–15 feet” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
Also known as
Northern Prickly Ash
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: South Central (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Florida (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications