Zanthoxylum ovalifolium

Zanthoxylum ovalifolium is a shrub or tree that typically grows to a height of and often has prickles on its branchlets and thick, conical spines on its older stems. It has trifoliate leaves long, often with simple leaves on the same twig. The leaflets are elliptical to egg-shaped with the lower end towards the base, long, wide and sessile, the end leaflet sometimes on a petiolule up to long. The flowers are arranged in leaf axils, on the ends of branchlets, or both, in panicles up to long, each flower on a pedicel long. The four sepals are long and the four petals white and about long. Male flowers have four stamens long with a sterile, narrow oval carpel about high. Female flowers have a single carpel long, and sometimes rudimentary stamens. Flowering occurs in summer and the fruit is a spherical red, purple or brown follicle wide. ==Taxonomy==

Zanthoxylum ovalifolium was first formally described in 1839 by Robert Wight in his book, Illustrations of Indian Botany, from specimens collected in the "Shevagerry hills in flower, and fruit in August and September". ==Distribution and habitat==

Thorny yellowwood is a widespread species, found from India, through southeast Asia, Malesia, New Guinea, and Queensland. In Australia it occurs between the Daintree River and Ravenshoe, growing in rainforest at altitudes between . ==Uses==

Timber Thorny yellowwood is a timber tree valued for its hard, yellowish-white, close-grained wood. Medicinal uses The fruits of this species are reported to have "astringent, stimulative, and digestive properties". ==References==