Zanthoxylum armatum SEEDS

Zanthoxylum armatum seeds grow into the winged prickly ash or timur an aromatic shrub or small tree native to the temperate biome from the Indian subcontinent (Kashmir, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka) east through China, Korea and Japan south into Malesia (Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia) a much wider range than the ‘Himalayan region’ description often given. The epithet armatum means ‘armed’, referring to the paired, winged prickles on the branches and leaf rachis. The small, reddish-brown fruit husks, known as timur in Nepal and as Nepalese or Himalayan pepper, produce a citrusy, aromatic, mildly numbing flavour a spice widely used across the Himalayas and in Tibetan and Nepalese cuisine. The numbing sensation comes from hydroxy-alpha-sanshool, the same compound responsible for the effects of true Sichuan pepper. Important in Ayurvedic medicine for dental pain (hence ‘toothache tree’). Family Rutaceae.

Full sun to partial shade; adaptable to a range of temperate to subtropical mountain soils; moderately cold-hardy.

• Citrusy, numbing fruit husks ‘timur’; widely used Himalayan and Nepalese culinary spice
• Winged, paired prickles on branches and leaf rachis ‘armatum’ = armed
• Indian Subcontinent to Temperate E. Asia and Malesia wider than ‘Himalayan region’
• Traditional ‘toothache tree’ numbing properties from hydroxy-alpha-sanshool
• Full sun to partial shade; mountain soils; temperate to subtropical; Family Rutaceae

Zanthoxylum armatum is the Himalayan pepper tree the timur’s citrusy, numbing fruit husks have flavoured Himalayan, Nepalese and Tibetan cuisine for centuries, and the tree’s wide distribution from Kashmir to Malaysia makes it one of the most important aromatic prickly ash species across the temperate mountain zones of Asia.

IMPORTANT: Pictures show the adult plant, which is not for sale. The offer is only for seeds.