Ziziphus abyssinica

Hochst. ex A Rich.

Jube-jube

Rhamnaceae Edible: Fruit, Seeds, Leaves 49 iNaturalist observations

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Summary

Source: Wikipedia

Ziziphus abyssinica is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae.

Description

A thorny semi-evergreen shrub. It grows 3-6 m high. It has a single straight trunk. The branches droop to give a rounded crown. The bark is dark grey and deeply grooved. Branches zigzag and are hairy. They have single or paired, dark brown thorns 2 cm long. In a pair, one is straight and one is curved backwards. Leaves are alternate along the stem. They are oval and leathery. Their length varies from 5-8 cm. The leaf base is unequal. Leaves are shiny green on top and hairy and orange yellow below. There are 2-3 clear veins. The leaf has a finely toothed edge and a short hairy stalk. Flowers are green or yellow in small star like heads. They are 1-2 cm across on stalks 1 cm long. The flowers have an unpleasant sharp smell. Fruit are rounded and 2-3 cm across. They are smooth and ripen to a shiny red-brown. There are 1-2 seeds inside a stone. The flesh of the fruit is edible.

Edible Uses

The ripe fruit pulp and seeds are eaten raw, though seeds are often discarded. The leaves are also edible. The fruit are eaten especially by children and sold in local markets.

Traditional Uses

The ripe fruit pulp and seeds are eaten raw. Often the seeds are discarded.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

The roots are boiled and the liquid drunk as a treatment for after-birth pains, stomach-ache, snakebite, and also to induce abortion. A decoction of the roots, mixed with those of Rhynchosia resinosa, is drunk as a treatment for stomach-ache. The roots are pounded and the powder is rubbed on the chest, which is first scarified, as a treatment for pneumonia. The leaves are boiled and used as a steam bath for the treatment of pneumonia. Ash from the burnt leaves is mixed with common salt and rubbed externally on to the throat to relieve tonsillitis.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in the lowlands. It occurs in medium to low elevations in Africa. It grows in dry savannah. It is often beside rivers. It grows in the Sahel in West Africa. It can grow in arid places. In Ethiopia it grows between 450-2,000 m above sea level.

Where It Grows

Africa, Angola, Asia, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa, Chad, Congo DR, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, East Africa, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, India, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Sahel, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, USA, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seeds. Seeds can be sown in pots then transplanted or sown directly where they are to grow. To collect seeds the fruit pulp is removed then the seeds dried. The hard seed cover should be cracked carefully or soaked in cold water for 24 hours before sowing. Plants can be pruned. It is used as a hedge. Plants can be cut back and will re-grow.

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe.

Other Uses

A cinnamon-coloured dye is obtained from the bark. The dark-brown to black wood is hard, heavy and resistant to termites and borers. It is used for furniture, interior work, carving, building poles and tool handles. The wood is used for fuel and for making charcoal. The plant is fiercely thorny and this virtue has been put to good use by making hedges of the plant that can keep out (or in) domestic animals and larger wild animals.

Production

In Zimbabwe fruit are ripe June to September.

Other Information

The fruit are eaten especially by children. The fruit are sold in local markets.

Notes

There are about 86-100 Ziziphus species. They grow in the tropics. There are 30 species in tropical America.

Synonyms

Ziziphus mauritiana var. abyssinica (Hochst. ex A. Rich.) Fiori

Also Known As

Abetere, Anguga, Desert apple, Emuriei, Esilang, Gurumohit, Gusura, Habei, Kagowole, Kala-nangwa, Kalobwe, Kankhande, Katagi, Kitolousuu, Kobtta, Kottae, Laang dial, Lang akon, Lango, Larukluror, Mkunazi, Mpiripiri, Muae, Mutanula, Nabag, Olangu, Qal-landi, Ufuru

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