Northern Toothache Tree
Zanthoxylum americanum
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in woodlands, forests, and glade margins over calcareous or mafic rocks, often forming extensive colonies near outcrops. Sometimes planted. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Louisiana. 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 3 Louisiana parishes.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone
Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.
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.
Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits
Cliffs, ledges, rock outcrops, talus and rocky summits where the source does not name the rock. A named rock files the place under its own glade or outcrop type instead.
Who uses this plant?
7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Zanthoxylum
- Cryptothelea gloveriiOrange Bagworm
- Dichomeris citrifoliellaOrange Webworm Moth
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Papilio cresphontesEastern Giant Swallowtail
- Papilio glaucusEastern Tiger 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” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White or green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · 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)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · 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
| Louisiana rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| LA 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
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- Louisiana occurrence source
- 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