Ziziphus jujuba Mill., Rhamnaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

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 (2013)
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 (2013) 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	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 186)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Ziziphus jujuba, please let us know.