Zanthoxylum martinicense, the Martinique prickly ash, white pricklyash, or espino rubial, is an evergreen tree with pinnately compound leaves and thick conical spines on its bark.[1] It grows up to 20 m tall. Male and female flowers are on separate trees. The flower clusters (panicles) are terminal and much branched, bearing many almost stalkless flowers.[2]

Distribution

West Indies[1] and northern South America including Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.[3]

Habitat

Moist areas in limestone based soils in full sun.[1] Typical of lowland forests in the Puerto Rican moist forest ecoregion.

Ecology

The fruit has five parts, each of which splits open to reveal a single shiny black seed.[2] The seeds are small (0.0009 g) and dispersed by birds.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c Kirk, T. Kent (2009). Tropical Trees of Florida and the Virgin Islands. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press.
  2. ^ a b Little, Elbert L.; Wadsworth, Frank H. (1964). Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Washington: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook No. 249.
  3. ^ Tropicos.org. 28100551. Missouri Botanical Garden. 25 Jun 2017
  4. ^ Carlo, Tomás A.; Flores-Mangual, Mario L.; Caraballo-Ortiz, Marcos A. (2013). "Post-Dispersal Seed Predation Rates in a Puerto Rican Pasture". Caribbean Journal of Science. 47 (2–3): 153–8. doi:10.18475/cjos.v47i3.a4.