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Tree and Shrub Gallery

Dessert Fruit - Rue Family (citrus)

     

Rutaceae - Rue family
Hercules-club Prickly-ash (Toothache) Zanthoxylum clava-herculis
Clusters of small green flowers (no photo). Very aromatic bush can grow to 15 feet tall but is most often shrubby. Corky-based prickles on trunk and branches. Old branches and trunk have pyramid-like bark growths resembling the club of Hercules (no photo). Leaves can have 5-19 leaflets, 1/2"-4 1/2" long with a shallow scalloped edge. Close grained, soft wood. Rough, 1/4" wide berries grow in clusters on long peduncles, greenish turning to brown. They hold onto the seed for a long time after opening. The standard also is called a "toothache bush" and was once used medicinally to numb gums and wash itchy skin.
This genus was used for toothaches because chewing the bark or leaves, or a tea made from the fruit, numbs the mouth.
Photos taken in Coleman County, Texas, September 2005
(Native of Texas, east & southeast - not listed in my area)

                    

Rutaceae - Rue family
Texas Hercules-club Prickly-ash Zanthoxylum hirsutum (Zanthoxylum clava-herculis var. fruticosum)

Evergreen, very aromatic, and can grow to 15 feet tall but is most often shrubby. Shiny green leaves can have 3-7 leaflets, 1/2"-2 1/2" long with a shallow scallops and crinkly edges. Bark is brown except for bright red new growth. Thorns are solidly affixed to the bark. Thorns are 1/2"-1" long straight to slightly curved, red turning brown: on trunk, branches, and back of leaves. Greenish-yellow flowers grow in 1" wide clusters. Rough, 1/4" wide berries grow in clusters on short peduncles, greenish turning to brown. They fall off when ripe.
This genus was used for toothaches because chewing the bark or leaves, or a tea made from the fruit, numbs the mouth.
Photos taken in Taylor County, Texas, May-August 2004, April 2005
(Native of Texas - Taylor, Shackelford, Coleman, Brown, Runnels, Coke)

     

Rutaceae - Rue family
Bitter Orange (Trifoliate Orange, Flying Dragon, Hardy Orange) Poncirus trifoliata
This tree can grow to 30 feet tall, but I have only seen it as a bush. Aromatic. Lustrous, dark green bark. Distinctive flattened spines, 1 1/2" long, grow from flared branches. Leaves are under 3" long, winged petiole. Missed the flower photo. "Orange" is under 2" wide, bitter. This plant is often hybridized with other oranges and Kumquats to produce varieties. It is also used as a grafting base plant to improve hardiness. Planted in a bucket, it will not grow large and can be used as a Bonsai.
Photos taken in Taylor County, Texas, November-December 2005
(Cultivated, native of China, naturalized - not listed in my area)