Zanthoxylum rhoifolium Lam., Encycl. 2: 39. 1786; Z. microcarpum Griseb.; Fagara rothschuhii Loes.
Arboles o treelets (rarely arbustos), 2–15 m de alto, troncos y ramas armados de acúleos, sometimes ramitas, leaf rachis and midrib of leaflet with few straight spines, without short -shoots, without zig-zag growth form; apical bud ca 2 mm wide, densely stellate-pubescent; ramitas 2-6 mm wide, densely stellate-pubescent. Hojas alternately evenly distributed, imparipinnadas or paripinnate, 7.5-46 cm de largo, rachis terete (rarely quadrate), 0.7-2.2 mm wide; folíolos 7-30, lateral folíolos angostamente elípticos, 2-9.5 cm de largo y 0.9-3 cm de ancho, ápice acute, base acute then decurrent on petiole, margen crenado, often gruesamente, sometimes slightly revolute at base, sparsely stellate-pubescent, membranous, 8-15 pairs of secondary veins; petioules 0.5-2 mm de largo. Panículas terminales or terminales y subterminales, 9.5-21 cm de largo, 3 or 4 times branched; rachis terete, densely estrellado-pubescentes, pedicels 0.3-0.5 mm de largo y 0.2-0.3 mm de ancho, densely estrellado-pubescentes; flowers 5-merous; sépalos ovate, 1/4-1/3 length of pétalos, ciliate and otherwise sparsely puberulent or glabrous, persistent; pétalos 1-2.1 mm de largo; carpels (1) 2. Folículos 1 and the remains of 1 aborted carpel, free, 4-4.5 mm de largo glabrous or sparsely stellate-pubescent, without stipe; seed 3-3.5 mm de largo.
Poco frecuente, bosques muy húmedos, zonas norcentral y pacífica; 170–1000 m; fl bud jul-ago, fr sep–dic; Grijalva 3925, Moreno 25265; Mexico to Argentina and the West Indies. Treated in the published Flora de Nicaragua as Zanthoxylum microcarpum.