''Zanthoxylum molle'' () is a woody plant from the

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

family.

Description

''Z. molle'' is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree with a height of 10 meters. The bark is brown and black. The tender branches are dark, purplish red. The stems have sharp spikes. The

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 ...

rachis and the tops of the branches are scattered, with many short, straight thorns. The

pith Pith, or medulla, is a tissue in the stems of vascular plants. Pith is composed of soft, spongy parenchyma cells, which in some cases can store starch. In eudicotyledons, pith is located in the center of the stem. In monocotyledons, it ex ...

of the tender branches is large and hollow. The leaf shafts are round and often short-haired. The leaves have 13-19 small leaves, usually 5-11 that are born on the top branchlets. The small leaves are opposite, almost sessile. They are thick, broad oval or elliptical in shape, sometimes round. They are 8-15 cm long, 4-9 cm wide, sharply pointed at the top, round or slightly heart-shaped at the base, symmetrical on both sides, sparsely slanted on one side, whole or with finely cracked teeth. The midrib is sunken in the leaf surface, which has 11-17 side veins on each side , The back of the leaf is densely covered with white-gray or yellow-gray felt-like hairs, and the oil spots are not obvious or sparse, which can be seen under the enlarged lens. The inflorescence is terminal and multi-flowered; the total pedicel often has sharp spines; the pedicel is light purple-red, densely short-haired; 5 sepals and petals are each; petals are white, 2-3 mm long; the

pistil Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl (botany), whorl of a flower; it consists ...

of the male flower is about as long as the petals, Top and lobed. Female flowers have extremely short staminodes and 3 carpels. The stalk and lobular petals are light purple-red, light yellowish gray to gray-brown after drying, without awn tip at the top, 4-5 mm in

diameter In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the centre of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest Chord (geometry), chord of the circle. Both definitions a ...

. They have many oil spots, and are dented after drying. The seed diameter is 3.5-4 mm. The inner cortex of the bark is light brown-yellow; the wood is light yellow-white. The flowering period is from June to August, fruiting from October to November.

Habitat

''Z. molle'' is native to South

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, and

Guizhou ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = Guizhou in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_alt = Map showing the location of Guizhou Province , map_caption = Map s ...

). It is found in dry forests or bushes in hilly areas 100-700 meters above sea level.

Applications

The bark is used as "sea tong bark" (see Chinese

Zanthoxylum bungeanum ''Zanthoxylum bungeanum '' is a species of plant in the family Rutaceae. It is one of the sources of the spice Sichuan pepper. The plant is native to North-Central China, South-Central China, Southeast China, East Himalayas The Himalayas, ...

). The leaf contains 0.1% volatile oil; the

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

contains 0.45%.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q11095028 molle