Ziziphus mauritiana Lam., Rhamnaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results: 

Reject, score: 12 (Go to the risk assessment (Australia))
High risk, score: 9.5 (Go to the risk assessment (Pacific))

Common name(s): [more details]

Chamorro: manzanas, manzanita

Chinese: dian ci zao

English: Chinee apple, Chinese date, cottony jujube, Indian cherry, Indian jujube, Indian plum, jujube

Fijian: baer

French: jujubier, massonnier, prune Saint-Paul

Hindi: baher, bahir

Spanish: azufaifo africano

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Small tree with prickly thorn-like stipules and small simple alternate 3-nerved leaves white (or tawny) tomentose beneath, dark green above, ovate or subelliptic, or slightly rhomboid, mostly less than 6 cm long, finely serrulate; flowers bisexual or male, greenish, in small cymes to 10 cm long; about 5 mm wide; calyx 5-toothed; petals 5; disc large; ovary with 2 styles; fruit a drupe with sweet sour mealy flesh and a 2-seeded stone, orange when ripe" (Stone, 1970; pp. 399-400).

Thorny tree 4-10 m high.  Flowers are white or greenish white and the fruits are orange to brown, 2-3 cm long, with edible white pulp surrounding a 2-locular pyrene. (Smith, 1985; pp. 696-697).

Habitat/ecology:  "Bush- and woodland, coastal sites.  A highly variable species with numerous varieties and cultivars and whose exact native range is obscure.  The shrub forms dense and impenetrable thickets affecting wildlife and displacing native plants.  In Australia, it forms a continuous shrub layer within formerly open eucalypt woodlands"  (Weber, 2003; p. 460).

In Fiji, "sometimes naturalized along roadsides and in agricultural land, usually near sea level but occasionally up to an elevation of about 600 m"  (Smith, 1985; pp. 696-697). "Occurs in a wide variety of habitats including river levees, margins of springs and alluvial flats.  Can spread to form impenetrable thorny tickets which seriously hamper the movement of animals and humans.  The thickets also out-compete more desirable native pasture species." (Smith, 2002; p. 25). In New Caledonia, "introduit depuis longtemps, reste rare dans les jardins" (MacKee, 1994; p. 120).

Propagation:  "Seed is spread by birds..., native animals, stock, feral pigs and humans who eat the fruit and expel the seeds. Spread also by intentional plantings as a fruit tree" (Smith, 2002; p. 25).  "The plant suckers from roots and resprouts even after complete removal of the shoots, e.g. after fires"  (Weber, 2003; p. 460).

Native range:  "Perhaps originally a native of India, Ziziphus mauritiana is apparently now widely naturalized from tropical Africa to Afghanistan and China, and also through Malesia and into Australia and some Pacific archipelagoes; its range as an ornamental is even more extensive" (Smith, 1985; pp. 696-697).

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		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1929) (voucher ID: BISH 172311) Taxon name on voucher: Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 696-697) Voucher cited: Greenwood 471
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 696-697) Vouchers cited: DA 11758, DA 11598, DF 1217 (Johns 13), DA 11817 (L.5223), DA 976, DA 1316
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1959) (voucher ID: BISH 15074) Taxon name on voucher: Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1956) (voucher ID: BISH 15075) Taxon name on voucher: Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1961) (voucher ID: BISH 15076) Taxon name on voucher: Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Mangareva (Gambier) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Vouchers cited: J. Florence 3273 (PAP), J. Florence 3618 (PAP) Cultivée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1982) (voucher ID: BISH 493082) Taxon name on voucher: Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1982) (voucher ID: BISH 493622) Taxon name on voucher: Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (pp. 399-400) Voucher cited: Stone 5031 (GUAM)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 155)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced cultivated	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2011) (p. Voucher specimens) Vouchers cited: Lorence 6587 (BISH 590388), Lorence 6630 (BISH 595101)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced cultivated	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2011) (p. Voucher specimens) Vouchers cited: Maehler 5 (BISH 64314), Stemmermann 6881 (BISH 493696)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced cultivated	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2011) (p. Voucher specimens) Voucher cited: Rock s.n. (BISH 64313)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex (2010) (p. 15) Voucher cited: D. Frohlich & A. Lau 2007112901 (BISH)
Kiribati Tungaru (Gilbert) Islands	Tarawa Atoll	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Imada, Clyde T. (2004) (p. 75) Voucher: Imada 2003-35 (BISH 697650)
Kiribati Tungaru (Gilbert) Islands	Tarawa Atoll		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (2003) (voucher ID: BISH 697650) Taxon name on voucher: Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 117)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 120) Voucher cited: MacKee 36674
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	cultivated	Waterhouse, Barbara (year unknown)
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Wake Islands	Wake Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1998) (voucher ID: BISH 690628) Taxon name on voucher: Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Northern Territory	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Nicholas M. (2002) (p. 25)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Nicholas M. (2002) (p. 25)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Humid forests, thickets along riverbanks, hills, slopes; below 1800 m. Native in Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, and Yunnan; cultivated in Fujian.
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (pp. 189-190)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 91) Cultivated only
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	introduced cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Cultivated

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) "Cultivé/naturalisé"
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced invasive	Kueffer, C./Mauremootoo, J. (2004) (pp. 7, 8)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Agalega Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Stoddart, D. R. (1983) (p. 135) Voucher cited: Procter 4206
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	native	Weber, Ewald (2003) (p. 460)

Comments:  Reported to be moderately invasive in Fiji (Meyer, 2000; p. 92). "A declared noxious weed in Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory" (Smith, 2002; p. 25).

Control: 

Physical:  "Single plants can be slashed and the roots grubbed".

Chemical:  "Larger stands are slashed and the cut stumps treated with triclopyr.  Basal bark sprays with triclopyr or picloram are also effective.  Glyphosate can be used as an overall spray.  Follow-up programs are necessary to treat seedlings and regrowth"  (Weber, 2003; p. 460).

Additional information:
Fact sheet from the Government of Queensland, Australia. (PDF format)
Information from the Purdue University NewCROP web site.
Information from the World Agroforestry Centre's AgroForestryTree Database.
Information from the Global Invasive Species Database.

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

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

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

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1929. Voucher specimen #BISH 172311 (Wilder, G.P. 932).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1956. Voucher specimen #BISH 15075 (Mune, T.L. 11817).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1959. Voucher specimen #BISH 15074 (Doroiveibau, D. 11758).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1961. Voucher specimen #BISH 15076 (Pillay 12333).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1982. Voucher specimen #BISH 493082 (Florence, J. 3618).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1982. Voucher specimen #BISH 493622 (Florence, J. 3273).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1998. Voucher specimen #BISH 690628 (D.R.Herbst 9854).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 2003. Voucher specimen #BISH 697650 (C.Imada 2003-35).

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Stoddart, D. R. 1983. List of the recorded vascular flora of Agalega. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex. 2010. New plant records from O‘ahu for 2008. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2008. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 107:3-18.

Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2011. Annotated Checklist of Cultivated Plants of Hawai‘i (online searchable database).

Kueffer, C./Mauremootoo, J. 2004. Case studies on the status of invasive woody plant species in the western Indian Ocean. 3. Mauritius (islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Forestry Department, Forest Resources Division, Forest Resources Development Service, Working Paper FBS/4-3E. 35 pp.

Lavergne, Christophe. 2006. List des especes exotiques envahissantes a La Reunion. Unpublished manuscript (Excel file). .

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2000. Preliminary review of the invasive plants in the Pacific islands (SPREP Member Countries). In: Sherley, G. (tech. ed.). Invasive species in the Pacific: A technical review and draft regional strategy. South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Samoa. 190 pp.

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

Smith, Nicholas M. 2002. Weeds of the wet/dry tropics of Australia - a field guide. Environment Centre NT, Inc. 112 pp.

Space, James C./Imada, Clyde T. 2004. Report to the Republic of Kiribati on invasive plant species on the islands of Tarawa, Abemama, Butaritari and Maiana. Cont. no. 2003-006 to the Pac. Biol. Surv. USDA Forest Service and Bishop Museum, Honolulu. 103 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

Thaman, R. R./Tuiwawa, M. 1999. Invasive, potentially invasive and adventive alien plant species of Fiji: a preliminary analysis of their status and measures required for their control. Preliminary draft discussion paper prepared for the SPREP Regional Invasive Species Strategy for the South Pacific Islands Region: Regional Workshop, Nadi, Fiji, 26 September-1 October 1999.

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

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.

Waterhouse, Barbara. 0. Barbara Waterhouse, pers. com.

Weber, Ewald. 2003. Invasive plants of the World. CABI Publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 548 pp.

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.

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).