Hercules’ Club
Hercules’ club – Zanthoxylum clava-herculis
This member of the Citrus family can be found in fields & other areas of sandy or rocky ground. The bark is very interesting with its knotty protuberances in pyramidal form. The odd-looking trunk earns the tree its name. The leaves contain a compound that Native Americans used to control pain. The leaves were chewed in order to relieve toothaches & gum pain. Birds love to consume the fruit, & thereby help distribute this tree.