Zanthoxylum ailanthoides is from Japan, but Z. piperitum is the main species used to make sanshō, Japanese pepper. Nevertheless, the seed and young leaves (ki no mé) of Z. ailanthoides can be used in a similar way. A regional nickname is tara,and in fact, its young shoots are often mistaken for the true tara (Aralia elata) by gatherers of wild plants.

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