Scientific Name:
Zanthoxylum piperitum
Pronunciation:
zan-THOK-sil-um pip-er-EE-tum
Common Name:
Japanese pepper
Family Name:
Rutaceae
Plant Type:
Shrub - deciduous, Tree - deciduous
Key ID Features:
Small tree with dark green odd-pinnate leaves with 11-23 toothed leaflets; fruit berry-like, red then scarlet in fall with large black seed. Winter ID: twigs reddish-brown with pair of spiny stipules at each node 2-3mm long, like rose prickles with a broad base; buds opposite, globular, 2-3mm long.
Habit:
Upright
Form:
Vase
Texture:
Medium - coarse
Mature Height:
2 - 3m
Mature Spread:
1.5 - 2.0m
Origin:
S.E. Asia / Japan / China (Japan)
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 6: (-23 to -18 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun, Part sun/part shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Landscape Uses:
Herb, Small garden/space, Specimen plant
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Compound
Arrangement:
Alternate
Texture/Venation:
Pinnate venation
Surfaces:
Lustrous
Compound Leaf:
Odd-pinnate
Colour in Summer:
Dark-green
Colour in Fall:
Yellow
Shapes:
Ovate
Apices:
Acute
Bases:
Rounded
Margins:
Serrate
Additional Info:
minute glands, aromatic
Inflorescence Type:
Cyme, Panicle-like
Flower Morphology:
Colour (petals):
Yellow, Green
Flower Scent:
Fragrant
Flower Time at Peak:
Apr, May
Fruit Type:
Capsule
Fruit Colour:
Red
Fruiting Time:
Sep, Oct
Additional Info:
Showy, berry-like with edible black seeds
Bark Morphology:
Lightly fissured
Bark or Stem Colour:
Grey, Brown
Leaf Bud Type:
Rounded or globular
Leaf Scar Shape:
Crescent shaped
Organ Modifications:
Prickles, Stipule, pointy spines
Propagation:
Seed, Softwood cuttings
Maintenance:
Low
Pest Susceptibility:
Fungal leaf spot, Mildew, Rust (Deer resistant, Rabbit resistant)
