Zanthoxylum myriacanthum (Ma-Kwaen / มะแขว่น)
organism / organism-zanthoxylum-myriacanthum
マクウェン / Zanthoxylum myriacanthum Wall. ex Hook. f.
Tree (10-20 m per the peer-reviewed taxonomic survey; up to 20 m per a government compiled review) in family Rutaceae, native to Northern Thailand (Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nan provinces per herbarium specimens). Identified in a peer-reviewed taxonomic revision as the species corresponding to the Northern Thai vernacular name Ma-Kwaen/มะแขว่น, one of four Zanthoxylum spice species used in Northern Thailand. Government extension sources (HRDI, DOA) instead give a single headline scientific name, Zanthoxylum limonella (Dennst.) Alston, for มะแขว่น generally -- see related records for the documented disagreement.
On this page (7 sections)
Reading the bitterness
「マー・クウェン(Ma-Kwaen/มะแขว่น)」 (in translation: "Ma-Kwaen") from northern Thailand (Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Nan provinces, at elevations of 920–1,200 m) was identified as Zanthoxylum myriacanthum Wall. ex Hook. f. in a 2009 peer-reviewed taxonomic survey using principal component analysis of leaf and flower characters, stomatal indices, and comparisons of stem anatomy. The survey distinguished this species from several other Zanthoxylum species used as spices in northern Thailand. Specimens were collected at Ban Pa Deng (Mae Taeng District, Chiang Mai, 920 m), Ban Tei (Pua District, Nan, 1,200 m), and other locations, and deposited in the QBG/CMU herbaria.
The survey’s use table lists Z. myriacanthum as 「果実:商業的な香辛料」 (in translation: "fruit: a commercial condiment") and adds that local residents sell fresh and dried fruit in markets under a Community Product Standard established in 2006. The recorded fruit use distinguishes it from Z. armatum, whose leaves and bark are described as being decocted to relieve toothache.
In contrast, Thai government extension sources (HRDI, 2024) and a Department of Agriculture review (DOA, 2020) give Zanthoxylum limonella (Dennst.) Alston alone as the scientific name for 「มะแขว่น」 (in translation: "ma-kwaen"). The peer-reviewed taxonomic survey above, however, says, citing Hartley (1966), that this name should properly be applied to Z. rhetsa and is not the scientific name of Z. myriacanthum. Even the DOA review, in its later species-level discussion, lists 4 species grown as 「มะแขว่น」 (in translation: "ma-kwaen") in northern Thailand (Z. myriacanthum, Z. rhetsa, Z. armatum, and a Taiwan variant) and associates the synonym Z. limonella with Z. rhetsa rather than Z. myriacanthum. Its opening summary and main text are thus internally inconsistent. This disagreement is recorded as an unresolved conflict between sources.
Sources for this overview
Notes on Spice Plants in the Genus Zanthoxylum (Rutaceae) in Northern Thailand
Checked for this overview: Confirmed the identification and specimen localities in the taxonomic survey. / Confirmed the use category of fruit as a commercial condiment.
"มะแขว่น" สุดยอดเครื่องเทศล้านนา อร่อยลิ้นชา นานาประโยชน์
Checked for this overview: Confirmed HRDI’s single scientific-name identification.
สายพันธุ์และลักษณะทางพฤกษศาสตร์และเคมีมะแขว่น
Checked for this overview: Confirmed the inconsistency between the DOA review’s opening summary and its main text.
Other names: Ma-Kwaen (th-Latn), มะแขว่น (th)
Follow the connections
Zanthoxylum myriacanthum (Ma-Kwaen / มะแขว่น) →is documented in→ Northern Thailand
Zanthoxylum myriacanthum (Ma-Kwaen / มะแขว่น) →The fruit of is used as→ Makhwaen fruit (ผลมะแขว่น) →has a defining sensory theme→ numbing
Structured claims — open a section to read each claim's confidence, evidence and limits
Composition and content (3)
Scope: Herbarium specimens from Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Nan provinces (920-1,200 m altitude)
Note: Peer-reviewed morphometric/anatomical taxonomic survey (PCA on leaf/flower characters, stomatal index, stem anatomy) identifying Ma-Kwaen as Z. myriacanthum, distinguished from 3 other Zanthoxylum spice species in Northern Thailand.
Show data
organism-zanthoxylum-myriacanthum —is_documented_in→ region-northern-thailandScope: Peer-reviewed taxonomic survey, Table 1 (uses column)
Note: Table 1 lists the use of Z. myriacanthum as 'Fruits: condiment (commercial)', distinguishing fruit use from Z. armatum (leaves and bark boiled for toothache pain relief).
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organism-zanthoxylum-myriacanthum —has_fruit_used_as→ ingredient-makhwaen-fruitScope: Cross-source comparison: peer-reviewed taxonomic paper vs. government extension sources
Note: The peer-reviewed taxonomic survey identifies Ma-Kwaen specifically as Z. myriacanthum, and separately notes (citing Hartley 1966) that 'Z. limonella (Dennst.) Alston' is an invalid name that should properly apply to Z. rhetsa, not Z. myriacanthum. The DOA review's own later per-species breakdown (citing the same Suksathan et al. 2009 paper) lists Z. myriacanthum, Z. rhetsa, Z. armatum, and a Taiwan variant as the 4 species grown as มะแขว่น in Northern Thailand, and associates the Z. limonella synonym with Z. rhetsa (มะข่วง) rather than Z. myriacanthum -- consistent with the peer-reviewed source. This suggests the headline 'มะแขว่น = Z. limonella' statements in the HRDI/DOA introductory summaries may be an imprecise simplification of a genuine species complex, rather than a clean alternative identification. Recorded as contested per the research protocol rather than resolved unilaterally.
Show data
organism-zanthoxylum-myriacanthum —is_not_synonymous_with→ "Zanthoxylum limonella (Dennst.) Alston, given as the single headline scientific name for มะแขว่น by a government extension page (HRDI, 2024) and the opening summary of a government compiled review (DOA, 2020)"