Agroforestree Database

Local names:
 Amharic (kurkura), Arabic (nabak (fruit),sidr), Bengali (ber boroi,kool,ber,boroi), Burmese (zee-pen,zizidaw,eng-si), English (dunks,jujube,Indian cherry,Indian jujube,Indian plum,geb,ber,common jujube,Chinese date,Chinese apple,bear tree,desert apple),

Ziziphus mauritiana is a spiny, evergreen shrub or small tree up to 15 m high, with trunk 40 cm or more in diameter; spreading crown; stipular spines and many drooping branches. Bark dark grey or dull black, irregularly fissured. Where climatic conditions are severe, it is commonly a compact shrub only 3-4 m tall.

Leaves variable, alternate, in 2 rows, oblong-elliptic, 2.5-6 x 1.5-5 cm, with tip rounded or slightly notched base; finely wavy-toothed on edges, shiny green and hairless above; dense, whitish, soft hairs underneath.

Inflorescence axillary cymes, 1-2 cm long, with 7-20 flowers; peduncles 2-3 mm long; flowers 2-3 mm across, greenish-yellow, faintly fragrant; pedicels 3-8 mm long; calyx with 5 deltoid lobes, hairy outside, glabrous within; petals 5, subspathulate, concave, reflexed. 

Fruit a drupe, globose to ovoid, up to 6 x 4 cm in cultivation, usually much smaller when wild; skin smooth or rough, glossy, thin but tough, yellowish to reddish or blackish; flesh white, crisp, juicy, subacid to sweet, becoming mealy in fully ripe fruits. Seed a tuberculate and irregularly furrowed stone, containing 1-2 elliptic brown kernels each 6 mm long.

The name ‘Ziziphus’ is often erroneously written as Zizyphus. The generic name is derived from the latinized version of the Arabic vernacular name ‘zizouf’ for Z. jujuba.

Ecology

Z.  mauritiana is a hardy tree that copes with extreme temperatures and thrives under rather dry conditions. Fruit quality is best under hot, sunny and dry conditions, but there should be a rainy season to support extension growth and flowering, ideally leaving enough residual soil moisture to carry the fruit to maturity. Commercial cultivation usually extends up to 1000 m. Beyond this elevation trees do not perform well, and cultivation becomes less economical.  Native to the tropical and subtropical regions, Z. mauritiana is more widespread in areas with an annual rainfall of 300-500 mm. It is known for its ability to withstand adverse conditions, such as salinity, drought and waterlogging.

Native range
Afghanistan, Algeria, Australia, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, Vietnam

Tree management

Z. mauritiana is a fast-growing species. Under favourable conditions, height increment on loose soil is 75 cm in 1 year and 1.2 m in 2 years; growth is stragglier by the 3rd season, when under similar growth conditions plants are thick and bushy, up to 1.5 m high. Growth is poor under natural conditions, 5-8 cm high after 1st season and 17-35 cm after 2nd season; Z. mauritiana coppices well and grows vigorously from stumps and root suckers. Fruiting starts after 3-5 years and is usually very abundant.

Orthodox storage behaviour, viability maintained for 2 years in hermetic air-dry storage at 5 deg. C. The germination rate increases during the 1st year of storage. The cleaned stones can be kept for 5 years in sealed containers, although during this period the viability drops from 95% to 30%. Z. mauritiana has 3300 pyrenes/kg.

Z.  mauritiana is a hardy tree that copes with extreme temperatures and thrives under rather dry conditions. Fruit quality is best under hot, sunny and dry conditions, but there should be a rainy season to support extension growth and flowering, ideally leaving enough residual soil moisture to carry the fruit to maturity. Commercial cultivation usually extends up to 1000 m. Beyond this elevation trees do not perform well, and cultivation becomes less economical.  Native to the tropical and subtropical regions, Z. mauritiana is more widespread in areas with an annual rainfall of 300-500 mm. It is known for its ability to withstand adverse conditions, such as salinity, drought and waterlogging.

Pretreatment is beneficial. Storage of the seed for 4 months to let it after-ripen improves germination. If facilities are available, stratification in sand for 60-90 days at 5 deg. C is recommended. Scarification, extracting the seed from the stone, and treating it with sulphuric acid has also been recommended. To germinate, seeds need full sunlight. Germination is epigeal and takes 3-4 weeks with seed left in stone, quicker if it is cracked, and 1 week if carefully extracted. Seed should be sown in trays or beds, and the seedlings pricked out when 2 pairs of true leaves have developed. The seedlings should also be given full light. It is likely that seedlings will need about 15 months in the nursery. Stumps may be used. When propagating selected varieties for fruit, budding or ring-grafting is used. Inarching and root-suckers are also possible methods of vegetative propagation.

Poison: Z. mauritiana is used to stupefy fish in Ethiopia.

Can withstand severe heat, frost and drought; hence it is planted in dry areas and on sites unfit for other crops.

Erosion control:  A suitable species to aid in fixation of coastal dune sand.

 Fruit is eaten fresh or dried and can be made into a floury meal, butter, or a cheeselike paste, used as a condiment. Also used for candy making and pickling. The fruit is a good source of carotene, vitamins A and C, and fatty oils. A refreshing drink is prepared by macerating fruits in water. In Indonesia, young leaves are cooked as a vegetable.

In parts of India and North Africa, the leaves of Z. mauritiana are used as nutritious fodder for sheep and goats. Analysis of the chemicals constituents on a dry weight basis indicates the leaves contain 15.4% crude protein, 15.8% crude fibre, 6.7% total minerals, and 16.8% starch. In India, the leaves are also gathered to feed tasar silkworms; tasar silk, highly prized, is the only silk commercially exploited in the tropics.

Apiculture: When in bloom it is ocassionally a source of pollen, at best a minor one.

Z. mauritiana produces excellent firewood (sapwood has 4900 kcals/kg) and good charcoal. Its drooping branches are easily accessible for harvesting.

Timber: Z. mauritiana yields a medium-weight to heavy hardwood with a density of 535-1080 kg/m³. Heartwood is buff-coloured, pale red or brown to dark brown, sometimes banded or with dark streaks, not sharply demarcated from pale brown sapwood; grain straight, occasionally wavy; texture fine to coarse; wood fairly lustrous. It seasons well but may split slightly during seasoning; easy to work and takes a high finish. It is hard and strong. The wood is used for general construction, furniture and cabinet work, tool handles, agricultural implements, tent pegs, golf clubs, gun stocks, sandals, yokes, harrows, toys, turnery, household utensils, bowling pins, baseball bats, chisels and packaging. It is also suitable for the production of veneer and plywood. Basically, any product that needs a durable, close-grained wood can be made from it.

Shade or shelter:  The tree has been planted for shade and windbreaks.

Tannin or dyestuff:  The bark, including the root bark, has served in tanning; when pounded and mashed in water, it yields brown and grey or reddish dyes.

Medicine:  Leaves, fruits and bark are used medicinally. Pounded roots are added to drinking water and given to poultry suffering from diarrhoea and to humans for indigestion.

Ornamental: Z. mauritiana is well suited for homegardens.

Tree useful as a living fence; its spiny stems and branches deter livestock.

Alcohol:  A raw, intoxicating spirit is occasionally distilled from the fermented fruit pulp.