Ziziphus ()Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607 is a genus of spiny shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae. It includes 68 species native to tropical and subtropical parts of Africa, Eurasia, Australia and South America. The leaves are alternate, entire, with three prominent basal veins, and often aromatic. The flowers are small, inconspicuous yellow-green. The fruit is an edible drupe, often very sweet and sugary, reminiscent of a date in texture and flavour.
Well known, commonly cultivated species i.e. jujubes include the Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) of China and Indian jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana) spread from western Africa to India; other species like Ziziphus spina-christi from southwestern Asia and Ziziphus lotus from the Mediterranean region are significant to local cultures within their habitats.
Etymology This genus was made in 1754 by Philip Miller after he separated some species from the Rhamnus genus that Carl Linnaeus placed in his book Species Plantarum. Its name is Latin and derived from Greek zízyphon which is identified with Ziziphus vulgaris, where it is presumed to have been borrowed from another language, perhaps from zizfum or zizafun, the Persian word for Z. lotus.
Ecology Ziziphus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Bucculatrix zizyphella, which feeds exclusively on the genus, and Endoclita malabaricus.
Species are distributed throughout the world in tropical and warm temperate areas, from rain forests to deserts. Some species are evergreen, others are winter or drought deciduous.
Species adapted to dry climates are smaller and have oleifera cells that produce a fragrant aroma.
Uses The temperate Ziziphus jujuba (Chinese jujube) and the tropical Ziziphus mauritiana (Indian Jujube) are economically important fruit trees.
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), suan zao ren (Ziziphus jujuba) 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.
Mythology The mythological lotus tree which occurs in Homer's Odyssey is often equated with Z. lotus.
Species 68 species are accepted.
Ziziphus abyssinica Hochst. ex A.Rich. – dry zones of tropical Africa Ziziphus affinis Ziziphus andamanica Ziziphus angustifolia Ziziphus apetala Hook.f. ex M.A.Lawson Ziziphus attopensis Pierre Ziziphus borneensis Ziziphus brunoniana Ziziphus budhensis Bhattarai & Pathak – Central Nepal Ziziphus calophylla Ziziphus cambodiana – Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam Ziziphus colombiana Ziziphus cotinifolia Reissek Ziziphus crebrivenosa Ziziphus cumingiana Ziziphus djamuensis Ziziphus elegans Ziziphus fungii Merr. Ziziphus funiculosa Buch.-Ham. ex M.A.Lawson Ziziphus glabrata Ziziphus globularis Ziziphus guaranitica Malme Ziziphus hajarensis Duling, Ghaz. & Prend. Ziziphus hamur Ziziphus havilandii Ziziphus hoaensis Ziziphus horrida Roth Ziziphus horsfieldii Ziziphus hutchinsonii – Philippines Ziziphus incurva Roxb. Ziziphus javanensis Blume Ziziphus jujuba Mill. – Jujube Ziziphus kunstleri Ziziphus laui Merr. Ziziphus leucodermis Ziziphus linnaei Ziziphus lotus (L.) Lam. – Mediterranean region Ziziphus mairei Dode Ziziphus mauritiana Lam. – widespread through Old World tropics and subtropics Ziziphus melastomoides Pittier Ziziphus montana W.W.Smith Ziziphus mucronata Willd. buffalo thorn – southern Africa Ziziphus nummularia (Burm.f.) Wight & Arn. – Thar Desert of India and Pakistan Ziziphus oenopolia (L.) Mill. Ziziphus otanesii Ziziphus oxyphylla Edgew. Ziziphus papuana Ziziphus pernettyoides Ziziphus poilanei Tardieu Ziziphus pubescens Ziziphus pubinervis Rehder Ziziphus quadrilocularis F.Muell. – northern Australia Ziziphus ridleyana Ziziphus rivularis Ziziphus robertsoniana Ziziphus rubiginosa Ziziphus rugosa Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Desf. Ziziphus subquinquenervia Ziziphus suluensis Ziziphus talanai (Blanco) Merr. – Philippines Ziziphus timoriensis Ziziphus trinervis (Cav.) Poir. Ziziphus truncata Blatt. & Hallb. Ziziphus williamii Bhandari & Bhansali Ziziphus xiangchengensis Y.L.Chen & P.K.Chou Ziziphus xylopyrus (Retz.) Willd. Ziziphus zeyheriana
Other list sources:
Formerly placed here Condaliopsis obtusifolia – Lotebush (as Ziziphus obtusifolia (Hook. ex Torr. & A.Gray) A.Gray) Pseudoziziphus celata (as Ziziphus celata Judd & Hall) Pseudoziziphus parryi – Parry's Jujube (as Ziziphus parryi Torr.) Sarcomphalus mistol (as Ziziphus mistol Griseb.) Ziziphus lloydi A.Gray
Fossil species † Ziziphus hyperboreus Heer (Greenland, Eocene fossil) † Ziziphus wyomingianis Berry (Tipperary, Wind River Basin Wyoming, USA, Eocene fossil) † = Extinct
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