Plant of the Week
Jujube, Chinese Date
Latin: Ziziphus jujube
By: Gerald Klingaman
The secretaries have
learned over the years to be cautious when I get
a box in the mail. Some mighty unusual and
sometimes smelly things periodically arrive that
way.
One of the more benign
specimens I usually receive every fall are a few
samples of 2-inch long oblong, wrinkled, brown
fruit. These fruit belong to the Jujube (Ziziphus
jujube), a deciduous, 25-foot tall fruit
tree from northern China reported to be one of
the most popular fruits of that land.
Jujube fruit are edible
either fresh, dried or preserved in sugar or
honey syrups. Fresh, the fruit reminds me of a
sweet, crunchy Styrofoam cup but others, who are
either more charitable or who have more keenly
developed taste buds, describe the taste as
sweet and nutty. Jujube fruit contain 20 to 22
percent sugar, but only 70 percent moisture, as
compared to the 90 to 95 percent moisture of
most fruit species.
Most selections of jujube
are upright growing with twiggy branches and
pairs of short spines on the older stems. The
glossy green leaves have a short petiole and are
2-inches long with tree prominent veins
extending from the base of the leaf to the tip.
Small, white five-petaled flowers appear in May
and continue to be produced for four to five
weeks. Best fruit set occurs when the plants are
cross pollinated, but some selections are self
fruitful and do not require cross pollination.
The jujube is a member of
the Rhamnaceae - the buckthorn family.
Jujube, according to
legend, is native to Syria and was introduced
into Europe during the reign of Caesar. However,
I find no mention of this species in the
recently published flora of that region.
Probably the plant was introduced to Europe from
China by means of the Silk Road during the early
years of the Christian era.
The small fruited European
selections were introduced into the United
States in 1837 by Robert Chisholm. But it was
Frank Meyer (1875-1918), the famous USDA plant
explorer, who also brought us zoysia grass lawns
and Bradford pear, who introduced the large
fruited types from China to California. The
fruit has never gained much popularity in the
United States, and today, is only grown by
backyard gardeners.
The jujube is hardy
throughout Arkansas and will survive as far
north as St. Louis, but there the fruit often do
not mature before first frost.
Plants tolerate extremely
droughty sites and very poor soils, making them
ideal for the gardener who wants fruit but
doesn’t want to put a lot of effort into the
job. Being relatively slow growing, the tree
does not require pruning as with other fruit
species.
The jujube is bothered by
no serious insect or disease problems. The tree
makes an unusual specimen tree in the landscape
and is a real focal point for conversation when
in fruit.
Source
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