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Ziziphus nummularia
Ziziphus nummularia, wild jujube, is a thorny, spreading desert shrub or small tree from arid western Asia and the Mediterranean edge. Grow it in full sun in very well-drained soil and water sparingly; it is valued for windbreaks, erosion control and forage. This entry covers the species only.
Ziziphus nummularia, commonly known as wild jujube or jharberi in Hindi, is a species of Ziziphus native to the Thar Desert of western India and southeastern Pakistan, Afghanistan, south Iran, Iraq, the northern Arabian Peninsula, the southern Levant, and the Sinai Peninsula. Ziziphus nummularia is a shrub up to 6 metres (20 ft) or higher, branching to form a thicket. The leaves are rounded like those of Ziziphus jujuba but differ from those in having a pubescence on the adaxial surface. The plant is commonly found in arid areas, hills, plains, and agricultural fields.
Ziziphus nummularia is native to India, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and the Sinai Peninsula. It is tolerant of a range of habitats including hillsides, plains, ravines, cultivated areas and sand dunes. On the sandy hills of southern Rajasthan, it is associated with Euphorbia caducifolia, Butea monosperma, Millettia pinnata, Syzygium hyrianium and Wrightia tinctoria.
Ziziphus nummularia has been used for erosion control, reducing wind damage, and allowing deposited material to stabilise, forming a microhabitat that enables other plants such as grasses to grow. The shrub sends up many suckers from the root system and can be planted to form a windbreak, sometimes in association with Crotalaria burhia. The timber is used in building construction and to make farm implements, and it also makes good fuel and charcoal. The leaves can provide forage for livestock; in India they are picked, dried, and stored, producing about 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) dried foliage per hectare. The fruits are edible, sweet, and acidic. They can be eaten raw, pickled, dried, or used to make confectionery. Rats and gerbils are also attracted to the fruit, which can therefore be used in poison baits to attract the rodents.
Jujube · Lotus · Indian jujube · Buffalo thorn · Jackal Jujube · Wrinkled Jujube · Christ's thorn · Jujube
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ziziphus nummularia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
