Zanthoxylum caribaeum Lam.

Zanthoxylum caribaeum Lam. Encyc. 2 : 39. 1786
Fagara caribaea Krug & Urban ; Urban, Bot. Jahrb. 21 : 562. 1896. Zanthoxylum occidentals Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 5 : 164. 1899.
A shrub, or tree 7-20 m. high, with glabrous branches armed with short, straight, darkbrown prickles ; leaves equally pinnate or odd-pinnate ; leaflets 7-13, on the young shoots sometimes as many as 23, ovate to elliptic-oblong or oval, 4.5-12 cm. long, 2.5-5cm. broad, rounded, obtuse, or short-acuminate at the apex, somewhat cordate, rounded or acute at the base, nearly equilateral or inequilateral, depressed-crenate or nearly entire, lustrous ; pellucid glands few to many ; petiole and rachis narrowly grooved above ; inflorescence terminal, 4-20 cm. long ; staminate flowers : sepals 5, semiorbicular or suborbicular, rounded at the apex, the margin thin, nearly entire, or fimbriate, 0.7-1 mm. long, 0.9-1.5 mm. broad ; petals 5, elliptic, obtuse at the apex, 4-5 mm. long, about 2 mm. broad, coriaceous ; stamens 5 ; filaments shorter than the petals, the anthers ovate or ovate-oblong ; pistillate flowers : petals elliptic, elliptic-oval, or somewhat obovate, 2-4 mm. long, 0.8-1.8 mm. broad ; staminodes minute ; gynoecium 5-carpellary ; follicles 4.5-8 mm. long, wrinkled, the body about 4-6 mm. broad, somewhat flattened, the stipe 1-3 mm. long; seeds 4-5 mm. long.
Type locality : Barbados.
Distribution : Porto Rico, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Barbados ; Mexico ; also in northern South America.