Zanthoxylum schinifolium, also called mastic-leaf prickly ash,[1] is a species of flowering plant in the Rutaceae, the citrus family.
It was first described and published in Abh. Math.-Phys. Cl. Königl. Bayer. Akad. Wiss. vol.4 (Issue 2) on page 137 in 1845 by botanists Philipp Franz von Siebold and Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini.[2]
It is native to central and eastern China, as well as temperate eastern Asia, which includes Japan, Korea, Manchuria, Ryukyu Islands and Taiwan. It is a shrub that grows primarily in the temperate biome regions.[2]
There are two accepted and known varieties:[2]
Its peppercorns are the source of the spice Sancho (spice) which is used in Chinese cuisine.
Fungal pathogen species Pestalotiopsis kenyana is known to cause leaf spot disease on Zanthoxylum schinifolium in Sichuan Province, China.[3]