''Zanthoxylum chalybeum'' is an aromatic deciduous shrub or tree within the family

Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in Bo ...

. It is also known as the lemon scented knobwood.

Description

A shrub or tree that can grow up to 12 m in height with a large crown; the

trunk Trunk may refer to: Biology * Trunk (anatomy), synonym for torso * Trunk (botany), a tree's central superstructure, and the stem of woody plants * Trunk of corpus callosum, in neuroanatomy * Elephant trunk, the proboscis of an elephant Comput ...

is furrowed, has woody knobs and often with recurved prickles, while the bark is pale grey in color. Leaves arepinnately compound with 3-5 pairs of leaflets, glabrous or pubescent, they can reach up to 7 cm long and 3 cm wide, and are elliptic to lanceolate in outline.

Inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

, ancillary

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

s or branched panicles, flowers are yellow-green in color. Fuit is ellipsoid in shape with black seeds.

Distribution

Commonly found in East Africa from Ethiopia southwards to Mozambique.

Uses

In parts of Kenya, Uganda and Somalia, a leaf decoction is used for the treatment of diarrhea, throat, stomach and chest pain. The leaves are also cooked and eaten as a vegetable or brewed and drunk as tea. Stem bark and root extracts are used in decoctions to treat malaria.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q50996797 chalybeum