Jujube

Jujube (UK Template:IPAc-en; US Template:IPAc-en or Template:IPAc-en<ref name=":0" />), sometimes jujuba, scientific name Ziziphus jujuba, and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus Ziziphus in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae.<ref name="POWO_719213-1"/> It is often confused with the closely related Indian jujube, [[Ziziphus mauritiana|Z.Template:Nbspmauritiana]]. The Chinese jujube tolerates a diverse range of climates, from temperate to tropical. Its origin is thought to be in southwest Asia, but it has been widely dispersed through cultivation, and is today cultivated in gardens as a shrub as well as in agriculture as a food crop. They are eaten freshly harvested as well as dried and candied.

Description

Template:More citations needed section It is a small deciduous tree or shrub reaching a height of Template:Convert, usually with thorny branches. The leaves are shiny-green, ovate-acute, Template:Convert long and Template:Cvt wide, with three conspicuous veins at the base, and a finely toothed margin. Leaves of trees grown in the original climate region in Turkey measure average between 3.8–4.28 cm in length and 1.79–1.98 cm in width.<ref> Template:Cite conference</ref> The flowers are small, Template:Convert wide, with five inconspicuous yellowish-green petals.

The fruit is an edible oval drupe Template:Cvt deep; when immature it is smooth-green, with the consistency and taste of an apple with lower acidity, maturing brown to purplish-black, and eventually wrinkled, looking like a small date. There is a single hard kernel, similar to an olive pit,<ref name="rushforth" />Template:Pn containing two seeds. Modern cultivated jujubes have kernels 3.8 times larger than those of wild jujubes.<ref name="SR">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Chemistry

Leaves contain saponin and ziziphin, which suppresses the ability to perceive sweet taste.<ref name="crfsn-32-231">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Flavinoids found in the fruits include Kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside, Quercetine 3-O-robinobioside, Quercetine 3-O-rutinoside. Terpenoids such as colubrinic acid, zizyberenalic acid, and alphitolic acid were found in the fruits.<ref name="Mahajan Chopda 2017 p.">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Taxonomy

The ultimate source of the name is Ancient Greek Template:Lang zízyphon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This was borrowed into Classical Latin as Template:Lang (used for the fruit) and Template:Lang (the tree). A descendant of the Latin word into a Romance language, which may have been French Template:Lang or medieval Latin Template:Lang, in turn gave rise to the common English jujube.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite OED</ref> This name is not related to jojoba referring to the species Simmondsia chinensis, which is a loan from Spanish Template:Lang, itself borrowed from hohohwi, the name of that plant in the Oʼodham language.<ref>Template:Cite OED</ref>

The binomial name has a complex history, due to a combination of botanical naming regulations, and variations in spelling. It was first named in the binomial system by Carl Linnaeus as Rhamnus zizyphus, in Species Plantarum (1753). Philip Miller, in his Gardener's Dictionary, considered that the jujube and its relatives were sufficiently distinct from Rhamnus to be placed in a separate genus (as it had already been by the pre-Linnaean author Tournefort in 1700), and in the 1768 edition he gave it the name Ziziphus jujuba (using Tournefort's spelling for the genus name). For the species name, he used a different name, as tautonyms (repetition of exactly the same name in the genus and species) are not permitted in botanical naming. However, because of Miller's slightly different spelling, the combination of the earlier species name (from Linnaeus) with the new genus, Ziziphus zizyphus, is not a tautonym, and was therefore permitted as a botanical name. This combination was made by Hermann Karsten in 1882.<ref name="rushforth" /><ref name="clarke">Clarke, D. L. (1988). W. J. Bean Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, Supplement. John Murray Template:ISBN.</ref> In 2006, a proposal was made to suppress the name Ziziphus zizyphus in favor of Ziziphus jujuba,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and this proposal was accepted in 2011.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Ziziphus jujuba is thus the correct scientific name for this species.

The fruit is also commonly known as red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube.<ref name=GRIN>Template:GRIN</ref> It is often confused with the closely related Indian jujube, [[Ziziphus mauritiana|Z.Template:Nbspmauritiana]].<ref name=Pasiecznik/>

Distribution and habitat

Its precise natural distribution is uncertain due to extensive cultivation. However, its origin is thought to be in southwest Asia, between Lebanon, northern India, and southern and central China, Korea, and Japan, and possibly also southeastern Europe though more likely introduced there.<ref name=rushforth>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Pn

The Chinese jujube enjoys a diverse range of climates from temperate to tropical (whereas the Indian jujube is restricted to warmer subtropical and tropical climates).<ref name=Pasiecznik>Template:Cite report</ref> The tree tolerates a wide range of temperatures and rainfall, though it requires hot summers and sufficient water for acceptable fruiting. Unlike most of the other species in the genus, it tolerates fairly cold winters, surviving temperatures down to about Template:Convert, and the tree is, for instance, commonly cultivated in Beijing. This wide tolerance enables the jujube to grow in mountain or desert habitats, provided there is access to underground water throughout the summer. The jujube or Z. jujuba grows in cool regions of Asia; five or more other species of Ziziphus on the other hand are widely distributed in milder climates to warmer deserts of Asia and Africa.<ref>S. Chaudhary. "Rhamnaceae" in: S. Chaudhary (Ed). Flora of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Vol II (Part One) 2001.</ref>Template:Pn

This plant has been introduced in Madagascar and grows as an invasive species in the western part of the island, threatening mostly protected areas. It is cultivated in parts of southern California.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ecology

In Madagascar, it is widely eaten by free-ranging zebus, and its seeds grow easily in zebu faeces.Template:Cn Template:Clear-left

Cultivation

Chinese jujubes have been grown in parts of Asia for thousands of years.<ref name=schremmer2025>Template:Cite web</ref> Wild jujube kernels have been found in three sites on the Qi River basin of northern China dating to the Neolithic period.<ref name="SR"/> It may have originated in Syria, but was distributed across the Mediterranean region at least 3,000 years ago. Today, it is most widely grown in China.<ref name="Gardens.org" /> The tree is tolerant of droughts and flooding, and can be cultivated on a large scale.<ref name=staight2023/>

Jujubes are grown as a garden shrub throughout most of the southern half of North America, doing particularly well in parts of California. Cultivars include Li, Lang, Sherwood, Silverhill (also known as Tiger Tooth), So, Shui Men, and GA 866.<ref name="Gardens.org" >Template:Cite web</ref>

Agricultural growers have started to plant Chinese jujubes in Australia since around 2000.<ref name=schremmer2023>Template:Cite web</ref> A family farm in Renmark, South Australia has been growing the fruit since 2015.<ref name=schremmer2025/> Seeka, the largest producer of kiwi fruit and nashi pears in Australia, produces abundant crops of jujubes, and was looking at exporting some of its output as the dried product. In 2023 the company was planning to expand its production by planting around 40,000 jujube trees on its land near Shepparton, Victoria.<ref name=staight2023>Template:Cite web</ref> By mid-2025, there were about 60 growers and around 50,000 trees planted in Australia, according to AgriFutures Australia. Growers said that a national body was needed to establish export markets and create more public awareness of the fruit domestically.<ref name=schremmer2025/>

Pests

Jujube date attacked by an insect larva

Witch's broom, prevalent in China and Korea, is the main disease affecting jujubes, though plantings in North America currently are not affected by any pests or diseases.<ref>Fruit Facts: Jujube Template:Webarchive</ref> In Europe, the last several years have seen some 80%–90% of the jujube crop eaten by insect larvae (see picture), including those of the false codling moth, Thaumatotibia (Cryptophlebia) leucotreta.<ref name="citruspests">Template:Cite web</ref>

Uses

Steamed jujube cakes in a zhenglong

Culinary

Freshly harvested and candied dried fruit are often eaten as a snack or with coffee. Smoked jujubes are consumed in Vietnam and are referred to as black jujubes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A drink can be made by crushing the pulp in water.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Both China and Korea produce a sweetened tea syrup containing jujube fruit in glass jars, and canned jujube tea or jujube tea in the form of teabags. To a lesser extent, jujube fruit is made into juice and jujube vinegar (called 枣醋 or 紅枣醋 in Chinese). They are used for making pickles (কুলের আচার) in west Bengal and Bangladesh. In Assam it is known as "Bogori" and the pickle, Bogori aachar (বগৰি আচাৰ), is famous. In China, a wine made from jujube fruit is called hong zao jiu (紅枣酒).Template:Cn

Sometimes pieces of jujube fruit are preserved by storing them in a jar filled with baijiu (Chinese liquor), which allows them to be kept fresh for a long time, especially through the winter. Such jujubes are called zui zao (醉枣; literally "drunk jujube"). The fruit is also a significant ingredient in a wide variety of Chinese delicacies (e.g. 甑糕 jing gao, a steamed rice cake).Template:Cn

In Vietnam and Taiwan, fully mature, nearly ripe fruit is harvested and sold on the local markets and also exported to Southeast Asian countries.<ref name="LIM"/> The dried fruit is used in desserts in China and Vietnam, such as ching bo leung, a cold beverage that includes the dried jujube, longan, fresh seaweed, barley, and lotus seeds.<ref name="LIM">Template:Cite book</ref>

In Korea, jujubes are called daechu (대추) and are used in daechucha, yakshik and samgyetang.Template:Cn

On his visit to Medina, the 19th-century English explorer, Sir Richard Burton, observed that the local varieties of the fruit were widely eaten. He describes its taste as like "a bad plum, an unripe cherry, and an insipid apple". He gives the local names for three varieties as "Hindi (Indian), Baladi (native), Tamri (date-like)."<ref>Burton, Sir Richard Francis (1855) A Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah pp.404,405</ref> A hundred years ago, a close variety was common in the Jordan valley and around Jerusalem.<ref name=easton/> The bedouin valued the fruit, calling it nabk. It could be dried and kept for winter or made into a paste which was used as bread.<ref>Crowfoot, M. Grace with Louise Baldenserger (1932) From Cedar to Hyssop. A study in the Folklore of Plants in Palestine. The Sheldon Press, London. pp.112,113</ref>

In Persian cuisine, the dried drupes are known as annab, while in neighboring Armenia, it is commonly eaten as a snack, and is known as unab. Confusion in the common name apparently is widespread. The unab is Z. jujuba. Rather, ber is used for three other cultivated or wild species, e.g., Z. spina-christi, Z. mauritiana and Z. nummularia in parts of India and is eaten both fresh and dried.Template:Clarification needed The Arabic name sidr is used for Ziziphus species other than Z. jujuba.Template:Fact

Traditionally in India, the fruits are dried in the sun and the hard seeds removed, after which the dried flesh is pounded with tamarind, red chillies, salt, and jaggery. In some parts of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, fresh whole ripe fruit is crushed with the above ingredients and sun-dried to make cakes called ilanthai vadai or regi vadiyalu (Telugu).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is also commonly consumed as a snack.Template:Cn

In Northern and Northeastern India the fruit is eaten fresh with salt and chilli flakes and also preserved as candy, jam or pickle with oil and spices.Template:Cn

In Madagascar, jujube fruit is eaten fresh or dried. People also use it to make jam. A jujube honey is produced in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.<ref name="LIM"/>

Italy has an alcoholic syrup called brodo di giuggiole.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In Croatia, especially Dalmatia, jujubes are used in marmalades, juices, and rakija (fruit brandy).Template:Cn

In Senegal and The Gambia, jujube is called Sii dem or Ceedem, and the fruit is used as snack, and also turned into a dried paste favoured as a sweetmeat by schoolchildren.Template:Cn

In Australia jujube beer is made.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The commercial jujube candy popular in movie theaters originally contained jujube juice but now uses other flavorings.Template:Cn

In Laoling, China, jujube juice and wine are made.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Traditional Chinese medicine

Template:More medical citations neededThe fruit and its seeds are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Traditional Korean Medicine and Kampo for many purposes. Some investigational research indicates possibilities related to their traditional use to alleviate stress<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and for sedation.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In these systems, it is also believed to have uses as an antiseptic/antifungal agent, anti-inflammatory, contraceptive, and muscle relaxer. It is also thought to help in regulation of blood pressure, stimulate the immune system, prevent ulcers and aid in wound healing. Jujube fruit is also combined with other herbs to treat colds and influenza. It is used to protect and heal the kidneys, heart, and spleen. Jujube is also one of the ingredients used in Chinese medicine to modulate the effects of other herbs, preventing overpowering effects or clashing properties.Template:Citation needed

The fruit contains many different healthy properties like vitamins and amino acids.Template:Citation needed

Other uses

In Japan, the natsume has given its name to a style of tea caddy used in the Japanese tea ceremony, due to the similar shape.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Its hard, oily wood was, along with pear, used for woodcuts to print books starting in the 8th century and continuing through the 19th in China and neighboring countries. As many as 2000 copies could be produced from one jujube woodcut.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Verification needed

The timber is sometimes used for small items, such as tuning pegs for instruments. Select grade Jujube timber is often used in traditional Asian instruments for fingerboard, pegs, rests & soundposts, ribs & necks etc. It has a medium to hard density similar to luthier grade European maple and has excellent tonal qualities. Jujube Wood can be found in local folk instruments from Ceylon/India thru to China/Korea; it is also commonly used in China in violin & cello making for overseas export, though usually stained black to imitate the look of ebony.Template:Citation needed

Culture

In Arabic-speaking regions the jujube and alternatively the species Z. lotus are closely related to the lote-trees (sing. سدرة sidrah, pl. سدر sidr) which are mentioned in the Quran,<ref>Abdullah, Yusuf Ali (1946) The Holy Qur-an. Text, Translation and Commentary, Qatar National Printing Press. p.1139, n. 3814.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while in Palestine the species Z. spina-christi is called sidr.<ref name=easton>Template:Cite wikisource</ref>

An ancient jujube tree in the city Al-Qurnah, Iraq, is claimed by locals as the Tree of Knowledge mentioned in the Bible.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Failed verification Local tradition holds that the place where the city was built was the original site of the Garden of Eden (a passage in the Book of Genesis creation narrative says that a river flowed from the garden and split into Tigris and Euphrates rivers,<ref>Template:Bibleverse: "A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. [...] The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates."</ref> where the city is currently). The tree is a tourist spot in the town.

Jujube tree is important in Hinduism too as Vishnu is worshipped in a major temple, in Badrinath, from the Sanskrit compound Badarīnātha, consisting of the terms badarī (jujube tree) and nātha (lord), an epithet of Vishnu.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It is also known as Badarikashrama.

See also

• Template:Annotated link

References

Further reading

• Fruits of Warm Climates. Julia. F. Morton, Yan Lin Aung, FL: 1986.

External links

• Nutritional data for the jujube