Ziziphus

Ziziphus
Ziziphus jujuba, by Adolphus Ypey
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rhamnaceae
Tribe: Paliureae
Genus: Ziziphus
Mill. (1754)
Type species
Ziziphus jujuba
Mill. (1768), nom. cons.
Species

68; see text

Synonyms
  • Chloroxylum P.Browne (1756)
  • Jububa Bubani (1897)
  • Mansana J.F.Gmel. (1791)
  • Zizyphon St.-Lag. (1880), orth. var.

Ziziphus (/ˈzɪzɪfəs/) 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 ζίζυφον 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 Blossom in Behbahan, Iran
Ziziphus Blossom in Behbahan, Iran

Other list sources:

Formerly placed here

Fossil species

† = Extinct

References

  1. ↑ "Ziziphus Mill". TROPICOS. Missouri Botanical Database. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Ziziphus Mill". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  3. ↑ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
  4. 1 2 3 Liu, M.J.; Zhao, Z.H.; Qi, Y.F. (August 2009). "International Survey and Discussion on the Names of Genus Jujube and Its Main Species". Acta Horticulturae (840): 81–88. doi:10.17660/ActaHortic.2009.840.9.
  5. ↑ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert. "ζίζυ^φον". A Greek-English Lexicon. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  6. ↑ Quattrocchi, Umberto (2000). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names. Vol. 4 R–Z. Taylor & Francis US. p. 2876. ISBN 978-0-8493-2678-3.
  7. ↑ "Suan Zao Ren - Sour Jujube Seed TCM Materia Medica". Yin Yang House. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  8. ↑ "Ziziphus jujuba, jujube | Trees of Stanford & Environs". trees.stanford.edu. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Query Results for Genus Ziziphus". IPNI. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  10. ↑ "GRIN Species Records of Ziziphus". GRIN. USDA. Archived from the original on 2000-10-31. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
  11. ↑ "Classificação segundo a Flora brasiliensis". florabrasiliensis.cria.org.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  12. ↑ "Ziziphus species list". Flora of China. EFloras. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
  13. ↑ The Biodiversity Committee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2008). "Genus Ziziphus". Beijing, China: Catalogue of Life China: 2008 Annual Checklist China. Retrieved September 9, 2009. [dead link]
  14. ↑ "Flora Europaea: Ziziphus query results". Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
  15. ↑ "Ziziphus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
  16. ↑ Geological Survey professional paper, Issue 165: Shorter Contributions to General Geology. US Govt. Printing Office. 1930. p. 73. Retrieved May 28, 2011.