prickly ash

American  

noun

1. Also called toothache tree, Northern prickly ash. a citrus shrub or small tree, Zanthoxylum americanum, having aromatic leaves and usually prickly branches.

2. Hercules-club.

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prickly ash British  

noun

1. Also called: toothache tree. a North American rutaceous shrub or small tree, Zanthoxylum americanum, having prickly branches, feathery aromatic leaves, and bark used as a remedy for toothache

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Etymology

Origin of prickly ash

An Americanism dating back to 1700–10

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prickly ash

After weeks of lockdown privation, the more iron-stomached among China’s diners craved a proper Sichuan-style hot pot, with fiery chili peppers and mouth-numbing prickly ash pods bobbing across a cauldron of red broth.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 16, 2020

They’re the dried citrus berries of the prickly ash tree, and they produce sensations unlike anything you’ll experience from a standard black peppercorn.

From Washington Post ● May 15, 2018

The ingredient called prickly ash in the article is more commonly known as Sichuan pepper and was, for a time, prohibited from importing to the USA because of fears it was contaminated.

From New York Times ● Jan. 25, 2018

In both East Asia and North America, preparations of prickly ash are used as folk medicine for their anesthetic or pain‑masking properties.

From Scientific American ● Feb. 4, 2015

It feeds upon various members of the rue family, including common rue and prickly ash, as well as upon certain poplars and probably other trees.

From Butterflies Worth Knowing by Clarence M. Weed

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