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Zizyphus (from Zizouf, the Arabian name of Z. Lotus). Rhamnaceae. Jujube. Ornamental woody plants grown chiefly for their handsome foliage, and some species for their edible fruits.

Deciduous or evergreen shrubs or trees: lvs. alternate, short-petioled, 3-5-nerved from the base, serrate or entire; the stipules mostly transformed into spines, often only one stipule spiny or one a straight and the other a hooked spine: fls. 5-merous; ovary 2-4, usually 2- loculed; style usually 2-parted: fr. a subglobose to oblong drupe.—About 40 species distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of both hemispheres, allied and very similar to Paliurus, but chiefly distinguished by the drupe-like fr. The fr. of Z. sativa, Z. Jujuba, and Z. Lotus are edible, and the first-named is cult. in China.

The jujubes are slender-branched shrubs or small trees with prickly branches, usually 2-ranked, small or medium-sized generally oval or oblong leaves and with small greenish or whitish flowers in axillary cymes followed by drupe-like sometimes edible fruits. They are not much cultivated in this country and none of the species is hardy North; the hardiest seems to be Z. sativa but it is tender north of Washington, D. C. Most kinds have handsome foliage and are well adapted for planting in shrubberies in the southern states and California. They seem to thrive in any well-drained soil. Propagation is by seeds, by greenwood cuttings under glass and by root-cuttings.

Cultivation of the jujubes.

While several species of Zizyphus bear edible fruits, Z. Jujuba is the only one of much importance in cultivation. As to its original country, preponderance of evidence favors Syria, from whence it was carried to Europe by Sextus Popinius toward the end of the reign of Augustus Caesar, about the beginning of the Christian era, and soon spread to all the countries bordering the shores of the Mediterranean. It is a quite hardy tree but its cultivation in Europe is confined to the warmer parts of Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal, and in Africa to the northern states of that continent. Its first introduction into the United States seems to have been by Robert Chisolm who brought trees from Europe in 1837 and planted them at Beaufort, North Carolina. It was introduced to California and neighboring states from southern France by the writer in 1876. The original trees of this importation are still growing in Sonoma Valley and have reached a height of 25 feet and a diameter of trunk of 8 to 10 inches, and are annually bearing abundant crops of fruit.

The tree is of drooping habit, the branches, especially in autumn, bending down with the burden of fruit. Its delicate light green foliage renders it very ornamental, while its reddish brown shining fruit, the size and shape of a small olive, adds to its beauty in autumn. The fruit is dry and wrinkled when fully ripe and has a subacid flavor which is pleasing to most persons. In southern Europe it is used to a considerable extent as a table dessert and in winter as a dry sweetmeat. It is regarded as a valuable pectoral and is esteemed for throat troubles in the form of pastes, tablets, sirup, and the like.

The tree has been extensively cultivated in northern China for thousands of years and hundreds of varieties have been developed. Frank N. Meyer, an explorer sent out by the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction of the United States Department of Agriculture, has introduced many of the best varieties, most of which are now fruiting at the Department experiment station, and are being distributed in the least frosty sections of the country. The fruits of the Chinese varieties are much larger than those grown in Europe, but are somewhat inferior in flavor. In China orchards of hundreds of acres in extent were observed by Meyer in the vicinity of the cities. One variety has recently borne at the Introduction Garden at Chico, California, the fruit of which is as large as an average hen's egg. Meyer says there are 300 or 400 varieties in cultivation by the Chinese. Some types are spherical and brown in color, others elongated and light mahogany-brown. Some sorts are eaten fresh and others are dried and keep indefinitely. The largest varieties when processed with sugar and honey make a delicious sweetmeat, comparable to a good quality of Persian dates. The Chinese shops in this country carry stocks of the dried and processed fruits which are much appreciated, not only by the Chinese, but by Europeans. Most of the varieties are armed with sharp stipular thorns, though occasionally thornless and seedless sorts have been produced.

Besides Zizyphus Jujuba, which produces the best fruits, other species are useful in various ways. Z. Joazeiro of Brazil, according to Dorsett, Popenoe, and Shamel, is a beautiful dense umbrageous tree producing enormous crops of fruit which is greedily eaten by sheep, cattle, horses, and swine, and has the advantage of thriving in very arid regions. Z. Lotus grows about the shores of the Mediterranean, the fruit of which, though inferior to Z. Jujuba, is eaten by the people of its native country. Z. rotundifolia (Z. nummularia) is a thorny shrub native of northwestern India where it is much used as a garden hedge. The fruit is small, but of pleasant subacid flavor. Z. rugosa, with an edible drupe, is hardier than the last, ascending in Burma to 4,000 feet. Z. sativa is a small or medium tree of Syria and northern India, ascending the Himalayas to 6,500 feet, therefore quite hardy. Its fruit is the size of a large olive, acid, but used for pastes and pectoral lozenges. Z. Spina-Christi is a bush used for hedges, so named from a notion that the crown of thorns was fashioned from the twigs. Z. Mistol is a small tree of Argentina with edible fruit with large stones.

The common jujube thrives in nearly all parts of the southwestern states and California and on all kinds of soil, except heavy clay and in wet locations, and requires little irrigation. The trees are planted 15 to 20 feet apart and are given the usual orchard cultivation. On account of their beauty the trees are often planted in dooryards. Propagation is by seeds or offsets. The seeds are very hard and are often cracked before planting, otherwise they will be one or even two years in germinating. Seedlings have been known to blossom at one year, but four years is more usual. As established trees send up abundant sprouts, the usual method of propagation is by this means.

The trees are regular bearers and the crop is never cut off by spring frosts, as they do not blossom until June in the valleys of California. The fruit of most varieties ripens in October and November and if desired for consumption fresh is gathered when showing the characteristic reddish brown or mahogany color, but if to be dried it is left on the tree until it assumes a darker shade and the skin is wrinkled. In this condition, after a short exposure to the sun the fruit will keep a year or longer. For preserving in sirup or glaceing, the unwrinkled fruit, being slightly more acid, is preferred.

The jujube is well worth the attention of fruit-growers and when produced in sufficient quantities will find an active demand from citizens from the south of Europe. It will appeal to all when fresh from the tree when properly processed, and for its medicinal virtues when simply dried or made into pastes or tablets.

Z. Giraldii, Sprenger. "A fine tree with a slender st. and compact crown and black edible fr." N. China. This is probably not different from Z. sativa, which occurs in N. China and has been collected there by Giraldi according to his herbarium specimens.—Z. Joazeiro, Mart. Lvs. broadly ovate, acutish, cordate at base, serrulate, nearly glabrous, 2-3 in, long: cymes many-fld.: fr. cherry-like, yellow. Brazil.—Z. Lotus, Lam. Prickly shrub, 3-4 ft. high: lvs. ovate-oblong, crenulate, glabrous: fls. in few-fld. axillary cymes: fr. Sub-globose, yellow. S. Eu., N. Afr.—Z. Mistol, Griseb. Spiny tree, to 30 ft.: lvs. short-petioled, coriaceous, oval, obtuse or retuse, sub-cordate at base, minutely and sparingly serrulate, hoary pubescent, about 1 in. long: fr. black, 1/3 in. diam, Argentina.—Z. nummularia, DC.-Z. rotundifolia.—Z. oxyphylla, Edgew. Closely related to Z. sativa. The slender prickle about 1/2 in. long: lvs. ovate, acute, finely crenate-serrate: fr. elliptic, black, acid, less than 1/2 in. long. Temp. Himalaya. A plant intro. under this name from Arabia by the Dept. of Agric. is said to have sweet frs. of date-like flavor.—Z. Paliurus, Willd.-Paliurus Spina-Christi.—Z. Parryi, Torr. Belongs to the genus Condalia, which is easily distinguished by not having spiny stipules but the branchlets transformed into slender thorns and by its entire, usually penni-nerved lvs. C. Parryi, Weberb., is a much-branched, glabrous thorny shrub, 4-15 ft. high: lvs. elliptic to obovate, obtuse, cuneate at the base, 1/3 – 1/2 in. long: fls. slender-pedicelled, in sessile clusters: fr. ovoid, 1/2 in. long. S. Calif. This plant was once offered by a collector of native plants, but it is probably not in the trade now.—Z. rotundifolia, Lam. Shrub, heavily armed: lvs. ovate to orbicular, tomentose on both surfaces: fr. globose, black, woody, about 3/5 in. diam. Persia eastward.—Z. rugosa, Lam. Large evergreen shrub or small tree, sometimes of climbing habit, armed: lvs. elliptic, glabrous above, 2-6 in. long: fr. fleshy, 1-seeded, obovoid or globose, 1/4 – 1/3 in. diam. Himalaya.—Z. Spina-Christi, Willd. Small prickly tree: lvs. oval to oblong, crenulate, glabrous or pubescent on the veins beneath: fls. in axillary clusters; pedicels tomentose: fr. ovoid-globose, red. N. Afr., W. Asia. This species is supposed by some to have furnished Christ's crown of thorns; see also Paliurus Spina-Christi.
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==Cultivation==
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===Propagation===
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===Pests and diseases===
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==Species==
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==Gallery==
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==References==
*[[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]], by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
<!--- xxxxx  *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381  -->
<!--- xxxxx  *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432  -->
<!--- xxxxx  *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608  -->

==External links==
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