Jujube

Ziziphus mauritiana

Thorny scandent shrub, thicket or small tree 4-5m (up to 16m) in height, with a rounded crown and drooping branches. Bark. Grey to brown, not very fissured, with a pink to reddish slash. Stems. Whitish and tomentose, zig-zag growth. Thorns. Arranged in pairs in leaf axils. One, mainly straight and tapering, turns slightly upward, reaching lengths of 1.8cm; and the other, hook shaped, turns downward and is slightly shorter. Leaves. Alternate, with highly variable shapes, elliptic, ovate or suborbicular, measuring 1.3-7cm long and 1-4cm wide, with finely dentate edges, a rounded or mucronate apex and rounded or subcordate base, symmetrical or almost so. Blade green and somewhat shiny on top, greyish and pubescent on underside. Petiole. Pubescent, 0.5-1.2cm long. Nerves. Palmate at base, with 3 basal nerves and 2 outer nerves, each one with 7-10 tertiary nerves that are not prominent, arched and usually parallel to each other. Inflorescence. Tomentose or woody fascicule with 3-8 flowers set in leaf axils and 2-4cm wide. Flower. Yellowish and pedicellate (1-3mm long) with a 3-4mm diameter, a somewhat tomentose calyx with 5 teeth and a corolla with 5 petals. Fruit. Globose drupe with a diameter of 1.2-1.5cm, brownish or purple when ride with a large stone covered by a whitish and somewhat floury pulp. Flowering. Usually during the rainy season.

Natural habit

Savannahs of Sudanese Sahel and Sudan, in croplands, sandy and rocky soils, shores of ponds and wadis.

  • Natural Habit

Classification

Fabaceae

Growth Habit

Perennial
Perennial
Height
4-6 m

Flower and fruit

Spring
Summer

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