Yellow Prickle

Zanthoxylum monophyllum (Lam.) P. Wilson & Bull. Torrey Club 37 : 86. 1910.
Fagara monophvlla Lam. Tab. Encyc. 1 : 334. 1791.
? ( n, I, Ma Schreberi J. F. Gmel. Syst. Nat. 2 : 498. 1791.
Ochroi vlum americanum J. St. Hil. Expos. Fam. 2: 259. 1805.
Zanthoxylum simplicifolium Vahl, Eclog. 3: 45. 1807.
Ochroxylum punctaium Mart. Denks. Akad. Munch. 6: 151. 1816.
Salmasia spinosa Spreng. Neue Entdeck. 2 : 166. 1821.
? Zanthoxylum Pentanome DC. Prodr. 1 : 725. 1824.
? Pentanome simplicifolia DC. Prodr. 1 : 725, as synonym. 1824.
Zanthoxylum Ochroxylum DC. Prodr. 1 : 725. 1824.
A shrub or tree, sometimes 10 m. high, with grayish bark ; branches unarmed or bearing flat-pyramidal sharp-tipped or rounded prickles 2-9 mm. long ; leaves unifoliolate, the leaflet oval or elliptic-oval, 3-14 cm. long, 1.5-5.4 cm. broad, or on the sterile branches sometimes 22 cm. long, and 8 or 9 cm. broad, acute, obtuse or short-acuminate, rarely longacuminate at the apex, acute or sometimes rounded at the base, entire or obscurely crenulate or rarely coarsely and irregularly crenate, equilateral or occasionally somewhat inequilateral, green and lustrous above, paler beneath, glabrous, the pellucid glands numerous ; petioles 0.5-1.5 cm. long, grooved, glandular ; inflorescence paniculate, terminal, or often on lateral branches, 2-5 cm. long, its branches more or less hispidulous ; staminate flowers : calyx 1-1.3 mm. broad; sepals 5, rarely 4, triangular, 0.3-0.5 mm. long; petals 5, rarely 4, ovate or ovate-oblong, 2-2.6 mm. long, O.S-1.5 mm. broad, white ; stamens 5, rarely4, as long as the petals, the filaments ovate ; pistillate flowers : calyx 1-1.2 mm. broad ; sepals triangular, 0.4-0.5 mm. long ; petals ovate, ovate-oblong, or elliptic-oblong, 2-2.5 mm. long, obtuse or short-acuminate at the apex ; gynoecium 2or 3-carpellary ; ovaries subsessile ; styles short; follicles globose or globose-obovoid, 3.5-4.5 mm. long ; seeds globose-reniform, 3-4 mm. long, 2.7-3.3 mm. broad, black, shining.
Type locality : Antilles.
Distribution : Hispaniola to Trinidad ; Costa Rica ; also in northern South America.