Jujube

Chinese jujube ( Ziziphus zizyphus )

The Chinese jujube ( Ziziphus zizyphus, syn. Ziziphus jujuba ), also known as Chinese Date (including accumulation date ), red date or Azufaifa, is a plant of the family buckthorn family ( Rhamnaceae ). She comes from North and Northeast China and is cultivated worldwide today. It produces small, oval and edible fruits.

Description

The jujube is reached up to 10 meters a tree or a shrub rare, the plant height. He is long and branched short spines or without spines and long. The bark is brown to gray - brown. The bark of young, bendable branches is purple - red or even gray - brown and soft. The stipules are formed into two spines or lacking. Long spines are straight and up to 3 inches long. Short spines develop on older branches and are bent.

The flowering period extends from May to July, the fruit ripening from August to October. The chromosome number is 2n = 24, but is often polyploidy with 2n = 36 or 2n = 48

The change-constant leaves are stalked 1-6 mm long, on young shoots also up to 1 inches long. They are hairy bald or weak. The egg-shaped or elliptic leaf blades are long outside ( abaxial ) light green and dark green center back ( adaxial ). They are 3-7 inches long and 1.5 to 4 inches wide and 3- annoying paper-like with slightly asymmetrical base. the leaf margin is denticulate and the tip rounded or obtuse, rarely sharp.

Inflorescences and flowers

The flowers appear singly or in pairs to eight in axillary, shortly stalked zymösen inflorescences.

The flower stalks are 2-3 mm long. The hermaphrodite flowers are fünfzählig, bald and yellow- green color. The flower cups is spherical, thick, fleshy and five lobes. The sepals are ovate to triangular, and keeled, adaxially. The petals are obovate and about as long as the stamens and nailed to the base. The ovary is inferior and slightly depressed in the flower cups. The stylus is two split up to about half.

Fruit and seeds

There shall be red to red- purple drupes. They are oblong to narrow - ovate and between 2 and 3.5 inches long and 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter. The mesocarp (middle fruit) is fleshy and thick. It tastes mildly sweet and slightly sour. The stone is sharp or rounded at both ends. It includes two chambers, and one or zweisamig. The seeds are flattened - spherical and about 1 mm long and 0.8 mm wide.

Dissemination

The Jujube grows in the mountains and on the hills, on sunny, dry places at altitudes up to 1,700 meters. The area of ​​origin of the plant is located in the north and northeast of the People 's Republic of China. From there she was later introduced first in Japan to north-west India and south-eastern Europe. Today we also find them throughout the Mediterranean to southern Switzerland and South Tyrol as well as in Vietnam, India, Georgia, Afghanistan, Sudan, Brazil and the southern United States.

Use

In dried form, the fruit used as a pectoral for colds; For this reason it is commonly known among pharmacists as Ber. In China, they presented a very early stage represents a major medicinal plants, so they will be described as in the Ben cao gang mu (Chinese本草纲目).

In Korean cuisine, the fruit Daechu ( 대추 ) are called and used for teas and for the chicken soup Samgyetang.

Even in ancient times, they came into the Mediterranean. Pliny reported they "Same strange are the jujubes and Tuberes, both of which recently, those from Africa, those have come from Syria to Italy. Sextinus Papinius, I used to know when consul, they first brought to us in the last years of the emperor Augustus, and let it be planted in the camp. They resemble more berries than apples, but serve the ramparts to the large ornament, because they now are enough up to the roofs. ". Before the 16th century, it was in Central Europe known as " Brustbeerlein " ( Hieronymus Bock) or " red - breast Beerlin " ( Clusius and Dodoens ). For detailed information about Krünitz are red, black and white jujubes to find.

Today, the jujube in the Mediterranean, Southeastern Europe and Asia Minor is considered naturalized in central Europe it thrives only in areas with wine-growing climate, its fruits ripen there only in years with many warm summer days. Particularly well known for the collection of " Ber " (Italian = Giuggiole ) the northern Italian town of Arquà Petrarca is at Padua, where the " Festa delle Giuggiole " takes place once a year in autumn. There are various products from the fruits are produced, such as liqueurs and jams.