Northern Prickly Ash

Zanthoxylum americanum

Northern prickly ash is a host plant for giant swallowtail and black swallowtail butterflies. some of the largest and most spectacular butterflies in North America. Plant it along a woodland edge or naturalized border and you will see adults laying eggs on the compound leaves through summer. The aromatic foliage carries a citrus-pepper scent when crushed. a notable sensory experience for anyone walking close by. Thorny stems, berries eaten by birds in fall, early pollen for native bees in spring. This is an ecologically loaded shrub that looks after itself completely once it's established. Not a specimen plant for a formal bed. a foundational component of a naturalized planting that wants to do ecological work.