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Ziziphus

 
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Ziziphus
 
 
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Ziziphus is a genus of about 40 species of spiny shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s and small tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae
Rhamnaceae

Rhamnaceae, the Buckthorn family, is a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs and some vines.The family contains 50-60 genera and approximately 870-900 species....
, distributed in the warm-temperate and subtropical regions throughout the world. The leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 are alternate, entire, with three prominent basal veins, and 2-7 cm long; some species are deciduous
Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
, others evergreen
Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
. The flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s are small, inconspicuous yellow-green. The fruit
Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
 is an edible drupe
Drupe

In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovary....
, yellow-brown, red, or black, globose or oblong, 1-5 cm long, often very sweet and sugary, reminiscent of a date
Date Palm

Phoenix dactylifera, commonly known as the Date Palm, is a Arecaceae in the genus Phoenix , extensively cultivated for its edible sweet fruit....
 in texture and flavour.

The best known species is Ziziphus zizyphus (Jujube).






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Ziziphus is a genus of about 40 species of spiny shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s and small tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae
Rhamnaceae

Rhamnaceae, the Buckthorn family, is a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs and some vines.The family contains 50-60 genera and approximately 870-900 species....
, distributed in the warm-temperate and subtropical regions throughout the world. The leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 are alternate, entire, with three prominent basal veins, and 2-7 cm long; some species are deciduous
Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
, others evergreen
Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
. The flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s are small, inconspicuous yellow-green. The fruit
Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
 is an edible drupe
Drupe

In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovary....
, yellow-brown, red, or black, globose or oblong, 1-5 cm long, often very sweet and sugary, reminiscent of a date
Date Palm

Phoenix dactylifera, commonly known as the Date Palm, is a Arecaceae in the genus Phoenix , extensively cultivated for its edible sweet fruit....
 in texture and flavour.

The best known species is Ziziphus zizyphus (Jujube). Other species include Z. spina-christi from southwestern Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
, Z. lotus from the Mediterranean region, and Ber
Ziziphus mauritiana

Ziziphus mauritiana is a tropical fruit tree species, belonging to the family Rhamnaceae. It is native to southern Asia though it is also cultivated and naturalisation elsewhere in the dry tropics, notably in Africa....
 (Z. mauritiana), which is found from western Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
 to India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
. Ziziphus joazeiro grows in the Caatinga
Caatinga

Caatinga is a type of vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in the northeastern part of Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation" ....
 of Brazil
Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
.

There are about 40 species, including:
  • Ziziphus angolito
  • Ziziphus apetala
  • Ziziphus attopensis
  • Ziziphus celata
    Ziziphus celata

    Ziziphus celata, commonly known as the Florida ziziphus, is a terrestrial flowering plant endemic to central Florida. The species is currently restricted to just eight sites which collectively support only a few genetically distinct individuals....
  • Ziziphus cinnamomum
  • Ziziphus fungi
  • Ziziphus funiculosa
  • Ziziphus glabarrima
  • Ziziphus guaranitica
  • Ziziphus horrida
  • Ziziphus hutchinsonii
    Ziziphus hutchinsonii

    Ziziphus hutchinsonii is a species of plant in the Rhamnaceae family. It is Endemism to the Philippines. Category:Flora of the Philippines...
  • Ziziphus incurva
  • Ziziphus joazeiro
  • Ziziphus laui
  • Ziziphus lotus
    Ziziphus lotus

    Ziziphus lotus is a deciduous shrub in the buckthorn Family Rhamnaceae, native to the Mediterranean region. It can reach a height of 2-5 m, with shiny green leaves about 5 cm long....
  • Ziziphus mairei
  • Ziziphus mauritiana
    Ziziphus mauritiana

    Ziziphus mauritiana is a tropical fruit tree species, belonging to the family Rhamnaceae. It is native to southern Asia though it is also cultivated and naturalisation elsewhere in the dry tropics, notably in Africa....
  • Ziziphus melastomoides
  • Ziziphus mexicana
  • Ziziphus mistol
    Ziziphus mistol

    Ziziphus mistol Griceb or mistol, is a spiniferous tree of the family Rhamnaceae, that belongs to genus Ziziphus, natural of certain areas of Gran Chaco, South America....
  • Ziziphus montana
  • Ziziphus mucronata
    Ziziphus mucronata

    Ziziphus mucronata, known as the Buffalo Thorn, "blinkblaar-wag-'n-bietjie" in Afrikaans and "mphasamhala" in Tsonga, is a species in the Rhamnaceae family....
  • Ziziphus nummularia
    Ziziphus nummularia

    Ziziphus nummularia, also called Jharber , is a species of Ziziphus native to the Thar Desert of western India and southeastern Pakistan and south Iran ....
  • Ziziphus obtusifolia
  • Ziziphus oenoplia
  • Ziziphus oxyphylla
  • Ziziphus parryi
  • Ziziphus pubinervis
  • Ziziphus reticulata
  • Ziziphus rignonii
  • Ziziphus robertsoniana
    Ziziphus robertsoniana

    Ziziphus robertsoniana is a species of plant in the Rhamnaceae family. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania. It is threatened by habitat loss....
  • Ziziphus rugosa
  • Ziziphus saeri
  • Ziziphus spina-christi
  • Ziziphus spinosa
  • Ziziphus talanai
    Ziziphus talanai

    Ziziphus talanai is a species of plant in the Rhamnaceae family. It is Endemism to the Philippines. It's common names are balakat, aligamen and talanai....
  • Ziziphus taylorii
  • Ziziphus trinervia
  • Ziziphus xiangchengensis
  • Ziziphus xylopyrus
  • Ziziphus zizyphus (syn. Z. jujuba)


    • Ecology

    Ziziphus species are used as food plants by the larva
    Larva

    A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
    e of some Lepidoptera
    Lepidoptera

    Lepidoptera is an order of insect that includes moths and butterfly. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterfly, skipper , and Hedylidae....
     species including Bucculatrix zizyphella
    Bucculatricidae

    Bucculatricidae or is a family of moths. This small family has representatives in all parts of the world. Some authors place the group as a subfamily of the family Lyonetiidae....
     (which feeds exclusively on the genus) and Endoclita malabaricus
    Endoclita

    Endoclita is a genus of moths of the family Hepialidae. There are 60 described species found in eastern and southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent....
    .

    Uses and mythology

    In traditional Chinese medicine
    Traditional Chinese medicine

    Traditional Chinese medicine includes a range of traditional medicine practices originating in China. Although well accepted in the mainstream of medical care throughout East Asia, it is considered an alternative medicine system in much of the western world....
     (TCM), suan zao ren (Ziziphus spinosa) is considered to be sweet and sour in taste, and neutral in action. It is believed to nourish the heart yin, augment the liver blood, and calm the spirit (TCM medical terms). It is used to treat irritability, insomnia and heart palpitations.

    The mythological lotus tree
    Lotus tree

    The lotus tree is a plant that occurs in two stories from Greek mythology:* In Homer's Odyssey, the lotus bore a fruit that caused a pleasant drowsiness and was the only food of an island people called the Lotophagi or Lotus-eaters....
     is often equated with Z. lotus, though the Date Palm
    Date Palm

    Phoenix dactylifera, commonly known as the Date Palm, is a Arecaceae in the genus Phoenix , extensively cultivated for its edible sweet fruit....
     is also a possible candidate. The Indian name of Ziziphus is ber (or bor).

    Gallery