Ziziphus mauritiana
(jujube)

Preferred Common Name

• jujube

Other Scientific Names

• Rhamnus jujuba L.
• Ziziphus aucheri Boiss.
• Ziziphus insularis Smith
• Ziziphus jujuba (L.) Gaertn., nom. illeg.
• Ziziphus jujube (L.) Lam.
• Ziziphus mauritania nom. illeg.
• Ziziphus orthocantha D.C.
• Ziziphus rotundata D.C.
• Ziziphus sonoria Roem. And Schult
• Ziziphus tomentosa Poir.
• Zizyphus mauritiana nom. illeg.

International Common Names

• English: Chinese date; Chinese fig; Chinese jujube; cottony jujube; desert apple; Indian cherry; Indian date; Indian jujube; Indian plum; jujuba; Malay jujube
• Spanish: azufaifo; yuyuba
• French: datte chinoise; jujubier

Local Common Names

• Afghanistan: berra (Pashto)
• Australia: chinee apple; Chinese apple
• Bangladesh: bozoi; kool; kul
• Barbados: dunk; mangustine
• Cambodia: putrea
• Cape Verde: zimbrao (crioulu)
• China: hong tsao; lang tsao; ta tsao; tsao tsao
• Dominican Republic: perita haitiana
• Ethiopia: abateria (Tigre); gaba-artigie (Tigre); gewa-ortigi (Tigre)
• Fiji: baer; baher; bahir
• Germany: Filzblattrige Jujube; Indischer Jujubenstrauch
• Greece: tzintzola
• Guadeloupe: dindoulier; gingeolier; liane croc chien; petit pomme; pomme malcadi; pomme surette
• India: ajapriya; badari; ber; beri; berii; bhor; boguri; borkuli; boroi; boro-koli; cherumali; dadara; elandai; elangi; elantha; elladu; etachi; ganga reni; ilamda; jelachi; karak-andhova; karkandhu; khati; kool; kuvala; madhuvaphala; reegu; regureni; yelchi; yellande
• Indonesia: bidara; dara; widara
• Iran: kanar; kunar; nabik
• Iraq: aunnaberhindi; nabig; sidr
• Italy: guiggiolo
• Jamaica: coolie plum; crabapple
• Japan: sanebuto-natsume
• Kenya: ekalati (Turkana); mkunazi (Kiswahilli); olongo (Luo); tolumuro (Pokot)
• Laos: than
• Malawi: massawo (Chewa); msonoka (Yao)
• Malaysia: bidara; epal siam; jujub
• Mali: domo (Bambara); mgaria (Haussa); ntomono (Bambara); surgo ntomono (Bambara); tomboro (Bambara); tomonou (Bambara)
• Martinique: dindoulier; gingeolier; liane croc chien; petit pomme; pomme malcadi; pomme surette
• Myanmar: eng-si; zee-pen; zi; ziben; zizidaw
• Nepal: baer
• Pakistan: ber (Urdu); berwarter (Baluchi); jujube; ker; kunar (Baluchi)
• Philippines: manzanita
• Portugal: jujubeira; maciera
• Puerto Rico: aprin; yuyubi
• Senegal: dem (Wolof); dim (Wolof); djabi (Peulh); djabie (Peulh); n'giobi (Peulh); sedem (Wolof); tabi (Peulh)
• Somalia: bheb (Arabic); gob (Arabic); jujube (Arabic); nabk (Arabic)
• Sri Lanka: ilanda (Sinhalese); mahadebara (Sinhalese); masaka (Sinhalese); yellande
• Sudan: nabbag elfil; sir nabk (Arabic)
• Tanzania: mkunazi (Kiswahilli)
• Thailand: ma tan; ma thong; man tan; phutsa; putsa
• Trinidad and Tobago: dunks
• Uganda: esilang (Karamajong)
• Venezuela: ponsigne; yuyubo
• Vietnam: c[aa]y t[as]o ta; tao; tao nhuc
• Zambia: akasongole (Bemba); massau (Nyanja); musawce (Tonga)
• Zimbabwe: masua (Shona, Tonga); musawu (Shona, Tangu); yanja (Shona, Tangu)

EPPO code

• ZIPMA (Ziziphus mauritiana)

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Rhamnales
•                         Family: Rhamnaceae
•                             Genus: Ziziphus
•                                 Species: Ziziphus mauritiana

The genus Ziziphus (family Rhamnaceae) is generally accepted as containing 86 species (Mabberley, 1997; Azam-Ali et al., 2006), most of which are Indomalesian, with some from West Asia, tropical and South Africa, Australia and tropical America (Parker, 1956). Ziziphus mauritiana was first named as Ziziphus jujube in 1789 by Lamarck. According to Luna (1996), two varieties are recognized in India: var. hysudrica, which is wild or cultivated with large fruit, and var. fruiticosa, which is a small shrub in the sub-Himalayan tract, with small fruit. Numerous identifiable cultivars have also been developed for fruit production (Bal, 1992; Azam-Ali et al., 2006). It is important to note that there has been taxonomic confusion within the genus, particularly between the two common, cultivated species, Z. mauritiana from India and Z. jujuba from China. Special attention to the authorities is also required as, for example, Z. jujuba (L.) Gaertn. is a synonym of Z. mauritiana, whereas Z. jujuba Mill. is the other common, cultivated species in the genus. Due to this confusion, some of the common names listed in the table actually refer to Z. jujuba Mill., or to both species, but are included nonetheless. For further information on common names in different languages in India and West Africa, see Azam-Ali et al. (2006).

Z. mauritiana is a small to medium-sized, single or multi-stemmed, spiny shrub or tree, which is almost evergreen, but is deciduous during the dry season. It has a round, spreading crown. It can reach up to 12 m tall and 30 cm diameter at breast height, but is highly variable in size and general appearance. Old protected trees of this species occasionally reach 24 m tall and 1.8 m diameter (von Carlowitz, 1991; Hocking, 1993). The bole is generally short, reaching 3 m in length at most. The bark is dark grey, dull black or reddish with long vertical fissures, reddish and fibrous inside (von Carlowitz, 1991). The branches are spreading and droop at the ends. The twigs are usually softly tomentose when young (Parker, 1956; Gupta, 1993). Z. mauritiana has a deep and lateral root system. Stipules are mostly spines, in pairs with one hooked and one straight, or both hooked, or rarely with neither as a spine. The leaves are simple, shining green above and whitish tomentose beneath, due to persistent dense hairs (occasionally glabrous), margins minutely serrulate, leaf shape ranging from almost round to an elongated ellipse, commonly sub-orbicular to ovate-oblong, rounded at both ends, highly variable in shape and size but always with three basal nerves and two stipular spines, one long and straight, the other small and curved back, and often brown in colour. Spineless types are not uncommon in this species (Singh, 1989). The leaves are solitary or in pairs, from 2 to 6 cm in length (occasionally 1.3-12.0 cm) and 1.5-5.9 cm at the widest point (occasionally 0.4-6.5 cm wide). Size variation is related to site quality and position on the tree, the leaves on vigorous new shoots being the largest (Parker, 1956; Hocking, 1993). Flowers are minute, greenish-white or yellow, hermaphrodite, in sessile or shortly peduncled axillary cymes, and are insect pollinated (Patel et al., 1988; Devi et al., 1989) with an acrid smell (Azam-Ali et al., 2006). The fruit is initially green and turns yellow, orange and red on ripening; being a drupe containing sour-sweet pulp and a hard stone. It varies in size from 1.2 to 3.7 cm long, and is generally globose or ovoid, and glossy. The fruits on wild plants reach about 2 cm in diameter, and on cultivated varieties can exceed 5 cm long. The stone in the fruit is irregularly furrowed and usually contains two cells and two seeds (Hocking, 1993), which have papery testa.

Z. mauritiana is cultivated throughout the tropics, but is only considered commercially important in China and India (Lemmens et al., 1995). Dates of introduction are few, but it is likely to have been intentionally introduced as a fruit species to the Middle East, Africa and South-East Asia in pre-history, and to other parts of the world since at least the early 1800s. It was first recorded in the Torres Straits between Papua New Guinea and Australia in 1863, and Townsville, Queensland, Australia in 1916 (Land Protection, 2006). It was introduced to Guam in 1850 and to Israel in 1939 (Morton, 1987). It has naturalized in a large number of tropical and subtropical countries and is widely distributed through tropical and subtropical, and arid and semi-arid regions of the world (Qaiser and Nazimuddin, 1981; von Carlowitz, 1991; Hocking, 1993). According to World Agroforestry Centre (2002), Z. mauritiana is a naturalized, introduced species in Myanmar, Barbados, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Iran, Martinique, Sri Lanka, Syria and some areas in the Mediterranean, though this list is clearly not exhaustive. Z. mauritiana is invasive in Australia, where it is a serious weed (Holm et al., 1979; ISSG, 2003) with noxious weed status in Western Australia, Queensland and Northern Territory (NWSEC, 1998). It is also invasive in Zimbabwe and Zambia (Nyoka, 2002) and on a number of Pacific and Indian Ocean islands (PIER, 2007). In Puerto Rico, Francis and Liogier (1991) estimated that more than 1000 Z. mauritiana plants were established on coastal plains and offshore islands but noted that they occurred infrequently or were restricted to a particular habitat and that the rate of spread was slow. Morton (1987) noted that Z. mauritiana was eradicated from Israel because fruit production was poor and the trees so infested with fruit flies that they were destroyed to protect other, more valuable, tree crops.

Soil drainage

• free

Soil reaction

• alkaline
• neutral

Soil texture

• light
• medium

Special soil tolerances

• infertile
• saline

Z. mauritiana is cultivated throughout the tropics and therefore has been intentionally introduced to many countries outside its natural range for the production of fruit.

Z. mauritiana has a negative impact on the Australian cattle industry (ISSG, 2003), as dense thickets restrict the movement of cattle and reduce the area of pasture available. Further restriction of cattle movements is sometimes necessary as a strategy to prevent the spread of the plant to uninfested areas, because domestic livestock are one of the principal dispersers of the seed, although no economic costs are provided (ISSG, 2003). Z. mauritiana has a positive economic impact, especially in India, China and Pakistan where it is a valuable commercial fruit tree with marketable produce. The relative economic balance needs to be calculated in other countries where it may be both a crop and a pest. The positive benefits of Z. mauritiana are considered sufficient to merit further planting in India (Tewari et al., 2001).

No precise information is available on the negative social impacts of Z. mauritiana such as those resulting from the thorns or due to restricted access to areas for recreation. However, the presence of a fruit crop is likely to have positive benefits, especially in dry areas or in years when alternative sources of nutritious foods may be lacking.

• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Has a broad native range
• Abundant in its native range
• Highly adaptable to different environments
• Tolerates, or benefits from, cultivation, browsing pressure, mutilation, fire etc
• Pioneering in disturbed areas
• Tolerant of shade
• Highly mobile locally
• Benefits from human association (i.e. it is a human commensal)
• Long lived
• Fast growing
• Has high reproductive potential
• Has propagules that can remain viable for more than one year
• Reproduces asexually
• Has high genetic variability

• Ecosystem change/ habitat alteration
• Monoculture formation
• Negatively impacts agriculture
• Reduced native biodiversity
• Threat to/ loss of native species

• Competition - monopolizing resources
• Competition - shading
• Pest and disease transmission
• Rapid growth
• Produces spines, thorns or burrs

• Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately
• Difficult/costly to control

Z. mauritiana is planted as a street tree in a number of countries, and large trees cast a welcome shade; however, the fruits can be a nuisance, as can the many birds that they attract.