Zanthoxylum simulans

The Chinese prickly ash or flatspine prickly-ash is in the citrus or Rutaceae family, native to eastern China and Taiwan. It is a spreading shrub or small tree growing to 7 m tall.

It is one of several species of Zanthoxylum from which Sichuan pepper is produced.

• Leaves are pinnate,7–12.5 cm long, with 7–11 leaflets, the leaflets 3–5 cm long and 1.5–2 cm broad. There are numerous 3–6 mm spines on both the stems and the leaf petioles, and large (several cm) knobs on the branches.
• The flowers are produced in slender cymes, each flower about 4–5 mm diameter.
• The 3–4 mm berry has a rough reddish brown shell that splits open to release the black seeds from inside.