To investigate the reproductive characters of the genera Zanthoxylum and Fagara (Rutaceae), the flowering season, the number, morphology and arrangement of perianth segments, and the number and morphology of carpels in Zanthoxylum piperitum DC., Fagara mantchurica (Benn.) Honda, and their related species were examined. The perianth segments of F. mantchurica were composed of sepals and petals which are arranged in two whorls, and the stigmas were fused with each other. However, in Z. piperitum, the perianths were composed of tepals only, which were arranged in one whorl, and the stigmas were not fused with each other. In addition, the flowering periods were different; Z piperitum bloomed from April to May, whereas F. mantchurica bloomed from July to September. Glands on the carpels distinctly occurred in Z. piperitum. These differences, which were found also in other taxa of Zanthoxvlum and Fagara, strongly suggested the possibility that Zanthoxylum and Fagara could be treated as two distinct genera, not as a single genus.
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