Prickly-ash is a large group of trees or shrubs found mainly in tropical regions. Prickly-ashes are not true ash trees. The name refers to the leaves, which resemble those of true ashes (see Ash). Prickly-ashes have sharp spines on the twigs and fragrant bark.
Several species (kinds) of prickly-ashes grow in the United States. The southern prickly-ash, also known as Hercules’s club, is a small tree with a warty trunk. It grows in sandy soil from Virginia to eastern Texas. It is also called the toothache tree because the bark produces a cooling and numbing sensation when chewed and has been used as a painkiller for toothache. The northern prickly-ash, also called common prickly-ash, grows in dry, rocky woods or lowland areas, mainly in the eastern and central United States. It contains an oil used in some medicines.
