Zanthoxylum asiaticum Seeds | Sichuan Pepper
LATIN NAME: Zanthoxylum asiaticum
COMMON NAME: Sichuan Pepper, Asian Prickly Ash
Plant Profile
Zanthoxylum asiaticum, better known as Sichuan Pepper, is an evergreen shrub in the citrus family (Rutaceae), native to woodlands and thickets of the east and the southeast Asia, while it has been cultivated for its aromatic seed pods. Established plants reach around Five metres. For the small amount of care it requires, the return is remarkable.
Science & Biotechnology
Botanists studying the citrus family regularly include Zanthoxylum asiaticum in comparative work, and the species also appears in horticultural trials aimed at gardeners and growers. The Sichuan pepper has a real and distinguished place in research. Nothing exotic is required: standard seed-sowing practice, done carefully, is enough.
Uses & Benefits
Gardeners value Sichuan Pepper for its ornamental character, and the plant also fits naturally into herb, vegetable and cutting gardens. The Sichuan pepper is a deciduous shrub of woodlands, bearing prickly stems, compound, bright-green leaves and small, red, aromatic seed pods. Its small, yellow-green flowers feed bees and other pollinators, and its red seed pods are a food for birds, while its prickly, branching habit gives a fine presence in woodland garden and shrub border. To raise the Sichuan pepper, sow seeds in pots of moist, open soil in a cool, bright place, keep them gently watered, and grow little shrubs on in the sun. Once it has its roots down, it more or less looks after itself.
Sichuan pepper is the tingling spice of ma-la cuisine, its hydroxy-sanshool the molecule behind the famous numbing buzz, and in Chinese medicine the peel, Hua Jiao, is a warming digestive herb; the thorns once guarded villages.
Growing from Seed
Starting Sichuan Pepper from seed is simple and satisfying. Use a fine, free-draining seed compost, scatter the seed evenly, cover it lightly and hold it just moist in good light. Grow the youngsters on steadily in pots until well rooted, then move them to their final positions.
Our Take
Sichuan Pepper, Asian Prickly Ash has real presence in the garden without demanding much in return. Sun, free drainage and a patient first year are all it really requires.
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