Q: I would like to know if Sichuan peppercorns could be grown in Georgia.

A: Sichuan pepper is a tree, native to Asia, whose seeds are used in food to give a mouth-numbing, tickling sensation. I’ve enjoyed it at local Chinese eateries. The genus of the plant is Zanthoxylum, the same as prickly-ash (toothache tree), Zanthoxylum_americanum and the Southern native Hercules club, Zanthoxylum clava-herculis. The peppercorn tree is cold hardy in our area but I don’t know if it could tolerate our summers. Complicating matters is that there are separate sexes, so you’ll need a female tree to get flowers and the spice-producing seeds. Look online for seeds and report back!

A Taste of Sichuan

Toothache Tree