Herb latin name: Zanthoxylum schinifolium


Family: Rutaceae (Rue Family, Citrus Family)



Medicinal use of Zanthoxylum schinifolium:

The pericarp is anaesthetic, diuretic, parasiticide and vasodilator. It is used in the treatment of gastralgia and dyspepsia due to cold with vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, ascariasis and dermal diseases. It has a local anaesthetic action and is parasiticide against the pork tapeworm (Taenia solium). The pericarp contains geraniol. In small doses this has a mild diuretic action, though large doses will inhibit the excretion of urine. There is a persistent increase in peristalsis at low concentration, but inhibition at high concentration. The resin contained in the bark, and especially in that of the roots, is powerfully stimulant and tonic.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Shrub

Height:
4 m
(13 feet)

Flowering:
August

Habitat of the herb:

Low mountains, C. and S. Japan. Roadsides in Korea.

Edible parts of Zanthoxylum schinifolium:

Seed - cooked. It is used as a condiment, a pepper substitute. Young leaves. No more details are given.

Propagation of the herb:

Seed - best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in the autumn. Stored seed may requires up to 3 months cold stratification, though scarification may also help. Sow stored seed in a cold frame as early in the year as possible. Germination should take place in late spring, though it might take another 12 months. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter. Plant them out in early summer. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Root cuttings, 3cm long, planted horizontally in pots in a greenhouse. Good percentage. Suckers, removed in late winter and planted into their permanent positions.

Cultivation of Zanthoxylum schinifolium:

Low mountains, C. and S. Japan. Roadsides in Korea.

Known hazards of Zanthoxylum schinifolium:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.