Flora of the Hawaiian Islands
Dicotyledon Literature for Zanthoxylum kauaense
Wagner et al., 1990, 1999.
   Rutaceae -- The Rue Family Bibliography
      Zanthoxylum kauaense
General Information
DistributionIn the Hawaiian Islands, endemic to Kaua`i, O`ahu, Moloka`i, Lana`i, Maui, Hawai`i.















Click here for detailed USGS map by Jonathan Price
Habit
Small to medium-sized trees (1-)3-15 m tall, trunk to 40-50 cm in diameter, bark brown to grayish brown, new growth glabrous or finely puberulent.
Leaves
Leaflets 3-7(-11), thick, coriaceous, ovate to elliptic, sometimes broadly elliptic, broadly elliptic-ovate, or suborbicular, rarely lanceolate, lateral ones usually asymmetrical, 4-19(-21) cm long, 2-10(-14) cm wide, lateral veins 5-10 pairs, spreading, higher order venation forming a conspicuous reticulate pattern, both surfaces glabrous or sometimes finely puberulent, and then more densely so when young, glandular punctate, margins entire or sometimes minutely crenulate, apex obtuse to rounded, sometimes bluntly acute, rarely acute or weakly acuminate, base cuneate to rounded, subtruncate, or subcordate, adaxial side ± terminating higher, lateral petiolules articulated only at base, 0-7(-10) mm long, terminal petiolule once or twice articulated, at base and ± near leaflet, 10-75 mm long.
Flowers
Flowers usually 15-150 or more in axillary, open, cymose inflorescences usually 8-15 cm long, glabrous or finely puberulent, arising at beginning of new growth on stem, and stem continuing vegetatively, peduncles 10-70 mm long, pedicels 1-5 mm long, bracteoles ca. 1 mm long, usually caducous; sepals 4-5, deltate, 0.5-1 mm long, ± finely puberulent, ciliolate; petals 4-5, white, sometimes pink or red-tinged, oblong-ovate to oblong-elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, 4-5 mm long; stamens (3)4-5, glabrous, absent in pistillate flowers; ovary 1-carpellate, rudimentary in staminate flowers; style oblique; stigma capitate.
Fruit
Follicle 1, falcate, obovoid, 8-12(-15) mm long, apex rounded, exocarp rugulose and pitted.
Seeds
Seed 1, black, subglobose, compressed, 7-13 mm in diameter.