Ziziphus jujuba Mill., Rhamnaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Rhamnus zizyphus L.; Ziziphus sativa Gaertn.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: zao

English: Chinese date, Chinese jujube, Chinese plum, common jujube, jujube, jujube tree

Fijian: ber

French: jujubier commun

Spanish: azufaifo

Habit:  tree

Description: 

Genus: "Trees or shrubs, usually with spiny stipules, the leaves alternate, the blades 3- or 5-nerved from base; flowers perfect, 5-merous, in axillary cymes; ovary sunk in disk, usually 2-locular; fruit a globose or ellipsoid drupe, unwinged, the mesocarp fleshy, the endocarp bony, the seed often solitary." (Smith, 1985)

Species:  A tree 5-10 m high with sharp, slender spines; when mature the fruit is dark red to brown or nearly black and is 2.5-5 cm long" (Smith, 1985; p. 697).

Habitat/ecology:  (no habitat/ecology info known by PIER)

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Southern Europe to southern and eastern Asia; widely cultivated elsewhere." (Smith, 1985; p. 697).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2011)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 697) Voucher cited: DA 5561
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced cultivated	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 523) Widely scattered in cultivation and as a semicultivated tree, scarcely naturalized.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Mountains, hills, sunny dry slopes, plains, also widely cultivated; below 1700 m.
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 189)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 186)

Additional information:
Information from "Morton, J. 1987. Indian Jujube. p. 272-275. In: Fruits of warm climates. Julia F. Morton, Miami, FL."
Article from "Wildland Weeds".

Additional online information about Ziziphus jujuba is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Ziziphus jujuba as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Ziziphus jujuba may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

McCormack, Gerald. 2011. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 2 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 530 pp.

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

Smith, Albert C. 1979. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 1. 494 pp.

Smith, Albert C. 1985. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 3. 758 pp.

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).