Zanthoxylum fagara (L.) Sarg.
Wild lime prickly ash, wild lime, lime pricklyash
Wild lime prickly-ash—how’s that for a name?—is native to south Florida and Texas, as well as Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. It extends in South America as well, down to Paraguay. Although one of its common names is wild lime, it is not a true lime.
Plants: evergreen shrubs or trees up to 23′ (7 m) high and 20′ (6 m) around. Trunks are rough and gray, up to 10″ (25 cm) in diameter. Uneven branches have rather nasty, recurved spines capable of inflicting painful wounds.
Leaves: Odd pinnate leaves have leaflets up to 1¾″ (5 cm) long. The compound leaves have wings along the rachis. Crushed leaves smell like citrus.
Flowers: Tiny, yellow to yellowish-green, and born in fuzzy-looking clusters that emerge from the leaf axils. They appear several times a year, between January and June.
Fruits: Red, maturing to brown/black, showy, round, and less than ½″ (1.3 cm) in diameter.
Habitats: Chaparral and brush country.
Edibility: Fruits are edible, used as a spice. The taste is reminiscent of lemon zest, first tingly, then somewhat numbing.
Online References:
References:
4/4/2025 · Interpretation Center Gianny Arismendi, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristóbal, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador 
4/15/2015 · Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Trail, Florida 
4/4/2025 · Interpretation Center Gianny Arismendi, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristóbal, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador 
4/4/2025 · Interpretation Center Gianny Arismendi, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristóbal, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Rosidae | Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more |
| Order | Sapindales | Includes citrus; maples, horse-chestnuts, lychees and rambutans; mangos and cashews; frankincense and myrrh; mahogany and neem |
| Family | Rutaceae | Rue or citrus family: limes, lemons, grapefruits, oranges, Sichuan pepper trees, and flowering shrubs |
| Genus | Zanthoxylum | Rue or citrus family: limes, lemons, grapefruits, oranges, Sichuan pepper trees |
| Species | fagara | An old word meaning Sichuan pepper |
Zanthoxylum fagara description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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