Prickly Ash, Zanthoxylum americanum, is native to North America, where the bark of these American trees has been used as medicine for hundreds of years.

Fun Fact: prickly ash is in the same family as oranges and lemons, the Rue family!

Prickly Ash is good for:

• digestive aid
• strengthens the nervous system
• supports healthy blood flow throughout the body; great for getting stagnant blood moving again
• increases salivation, which improves tooth and gum health
• helps resolve nerve pain, numbness or tingling, loss of sensation in the hands and feet, and similar issues that have nerve damage or loss of function at their root

I foraged this plant in central Minnesota.

I use the folk method for making all my tinctures, which uses no measurements except sizing things up with your eyes. So I put the plant material in a jar and then fill with alcohol.

Dosages -

Dosages for children are not provided in most herbals. To determine the correct dose you need to consider the size of the child, the ailment, the power of the herb you intend to use, and the adult dosage.

Young's Rule for determining dosage uses the child's age divided by twelve plus the age. The dosage for a 4 year old: 4/12+4 = 4/16 = 1/4 of the adult dose.