Flora of North America species comparison

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Ziziphus jujuba

Chinese date, common jujuba, common jujube
Habit Shrubs or small trees, 2–12 m; secondary branches reddish, glabrescent, not thorn-tipped, axillary thorns absent; stipular spines usually present, straight or curving, 15–40 mm, solitary or paired, sometimes absent.
Leaves

deciduous, alternate;

blade green abaxially, darker green and glossy adaxially, ovate to ovate-lanceolate or elliptic-oblong, 3–6 cm, coriaceous, base oblique, margins crenate-serrate, apex usually obtuse to rounded, rarely acute, surfaces glabrous; 3-veined from base.
Inflorescences

cymes, 2–8-flowered, or rarely flowers solitary.
Flowers

hypanthium and sepals yellow-green, petals pale yellow.
Drupes

ripening through yellow-green to dark red or reddish purple, ellipsoid to narrowly ovoid, 15–20(–30) mm.
2n

= 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 96.

Ziziphus jujuba
Phenology Flowering Mar–May.
Habitat Old home and ranch sites, fencerows, fields, pastures, roadsides, weedy riparian woods, alluvial slopes.
Elevation 50–700 m. (200–2300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AZ; CA; FL; GA; LA; TX; UT; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The fruits of Ziziphus jujuba have a datelike taste and are eaten fresh, dried, candied, or preserved. Hundreds of cultivars have been developed in China. The spineless var. inermis (Bunge) Rehder sometimes is identified as a cultivar.

The species was first introduced to North America in 1837 and has spread widely. It is not always clear whether it is naturalized or persisting from earlier plantings.

The name Ziziphus zizyphus (Linnaeus) H. Karsten, sometimes used for this species, is a tautonym and therefore illegitimate.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 72.
Parent taxa Rhamnaceae > Ziziphus
Sibling taxa
Z. celata, Z. divaricata, Z. mauritiana, Z. obtusifolia, Z. parryi
Synonyms Rhamnus zizyphus
Name authority Miller: Gard. Dict. ed. 8, Ziziphus no. 1. (1768) — name conserved
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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