Zanthoxylum scandens (Chinese: 花椒簕) is a woody plant from the family Rutaceae.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Zanthoxylum scandens is a woody plant, observed as a shrub or woody climber.[1] It has been found in lowland forests, open forests, and thickets from an elevation at near sea level to 1,500 metres (4,921 feet).[1] Geographically, the species has been spotted in areas within South Anhui, Chongqing, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar,[1] Laos, and Vietnam.[3]
The species has a self-supporting growth form, with individual plants growing up to 24 metres (79 feet).[4] Prickles can be found on its trunks, branches, branchlets, and leaf rachises.[1] Flowers are tetramerous, with a perianth in two series.[1] It sepals have been found as pale purplish green in color, ovate in shape, and about 0.5 millimetres (0.020 inches) in size.[1] Male flowers have four stamens, are about three to four millimeters in size, and have a spot at their apex.[1] Female flowers have three carpels with ligulate staminodes.[1] Fruit follicles have been observed as purplish red in color, but grayish brown to black when dry.[1] Seeds are about four to five millimeters in diameter.[1] The species typically flowers from March to May, and fruits from to July to August.[1]
The species was first published in Carl Ludwig von Blume's Bijdragen tot de Flora van Nederlandsch Indie in 1825.[2] It has widely been accepted as a species, including in Flora of Japan II (Iwatsuki, K., Boufford, D.E. & Ohba, H., 1999), A Checklist of the Trees, Shrubs, Herbs and Climbers of Myanmar (Kress, W.J., DeFilipps, R.A., Farr, E. & Kyi, D.Y.Y., 2003), Danh lục các loài thực vật Việt Nam (Lê, T.C., 2003), Check-List of Flora of Meghalaya (Mao, A.A., Sinha, B.K., Verma, D. & Sarma, N., 2016), Bokor National Park A picture guide of forest trees in Cambodia (Tagane, S. & al., 2017), and Flora of China. (Wu, Z. & Raven, P.H., 2008).[3]
529 occurrences have been officially recorded.[4] Three specimens are kept at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.[3]
Twelve potential synonyms have been identified, including Fagara chinensis, Fagara cuspidata, Fagara cyrtorhachia, Fagara laxifoliolata, Fagara leiorhachia, Fagara scandens, Zanthoxylum chinense, Zanthoxylum cuspidatum, Zanthoxylum cyrtorbachium, Zanthoxylum laxifoliolatum, Zanthoxylum leiorhachium and Zanthoxylum liukiuense.[3]
