''Zanthoxylum ailanthoides'', also called ailanthus-like prickly ash, (, lit. "

Ailanthus ''Ailanthus'' (; derived from ''ailanto,'' an Ambonese word probably meaning "tree of the gods" or "tree of heaven") is a genus of trees belonging to the family Simaroubaceae, in the order Sapindales (formerly Rutales or Geraniales). The genus ...

-leaved pepper",; the name is obviously adaptation of latin ailanthoides "ailanthus-like" , lit. " Yue pepper",, p.503 食茱萸 ''shi zhu yu'',, 「澳名に食茱萸を当てる。からすのさんしょう..カラスザンセウ」(This dictionary states 食茱萸 as Cantonese for ''karasu-zansho''), p.462 gives 食菜萸 but probably mistype since this is not pronounced lit. "edible shān zhū yú"; ja, カラスザンショウ, からすのさんしょう ''karasu-zanshō, karasu-no-sanshō'', lit. "crow prickly ash") is an Asiatic plant of the prickly-ash genus ''Zanthoxylum'', natively occurring in forest-covered parts of southeastern China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and Japan from Honshu southward. The piquant fruit serves as a local substitute for the ordinary red-pepper in China before the

Columbian exchange The Columbian exchange, also known as the Columbian interchange, was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, commodities, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the New World (the Americas) in ...

. In Taiwan, the young leaves are used in cuisines. Though some refer to the species as "Japanese prickly-ash", that name is confusing since it is sometimes applied to the '' sanshō'' which is ''Z. piperitum''. ''Z. ailanthoides'' is not normally exploited for human consumption in Japan, except by the prehistoric people from the

Jōmon period The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a c ...

. It is foraged in the wild by the Japanese macaque. A regional nickname is ''tara'', and in fact, its young shoots are often mistaken for the true ''tara'' ('' Aralia elata'') by gatherers of wild plants.p.64 The Latin name ''ailanthoides'' of the species comes from its leaves resembling those of the

. Like other genera of plants in the rue family, it serves as the host food plant for the larvae of several Asian

swallowtail butterfly Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the large ...

species, such as ''

Papilio bianor ''Papilio bianor'', the Common peacock or Chinese peacock black swallowtail emerald or Chinese peacock is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae, the swallowtails. It is native to Asia. It is the state butterfly of the Indian state of ...

'', '' Papilio helenus'', '' Papilio protenor'', and '' Papilio xuthus''.

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* * Trees of China Trees of Japan Chinese condiments Taiwanese cuisine Herbs Leaf vegetables ailanthoides {{Rutaceae-stub