Japanese Prickly Ash                        zan-tho-ZI-lum pi-PER-i-tum

• Deciduous shrub or small tree, compact, dense, 8-15 ft (2.5-4.5 m) tall and wide, stem armed with flat spines, 8-13 mm long, in pairs at each node.  Leaves alternate, pinnately compound, 7.5-15 cm long, with 11-23 leaflets, each 2-4 cm long, glossy dark green; pepper-tasting.  Flower yellow-green, small, in 2.5-5 cm clusters.  Fruit reddish, contain black seeds, which are ground and used as a seasoning in Japan.
• Sun.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 5         Native to Japan, Korea, and northern China.
• piperitum: pepper-like.
• Silverton, Oregon: The Oregon Garden (2011)