Fruits & Vegetables Codexery

Jujube

A fruit-bearing tree cultivated for millennia across Asia and beyond.

Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) is a small deciduous tree or shrub in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae, often confused with the Indian jujube Z. mauritiana.[1][2] Its fruit is an edible oval drupe that matures from smooth-green to purplish-black and eventually wrinkled, resembling a small date.[3]

Quick Facts

Genus
Ziziphus
Species
jujuba

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

Philip Miller placed it in the separate genus Ziziphus in 1768, using a different species name because tautonyms are not permitted.[4][5] The combination Ziziphus zizyphus was made by Hermann Karsten in 1882, but a 2006 proposal to suppress that name in favor of Ziziphus jujuba was accepted in 2011.[5] It tolerates a wide range of temperatures and rainfall, surviving down to about −15 °C.[6][7] Carl Linnaeus originally classified the plant as Rhamnus zizyphus in his 1753 work Species Plantarum.[4]

The exact native range of Ziziphus jujuba is unclear because it has been so widely cultivated.[8] Scholars believe the species originated in eastern Asia, including southern and central China, India, Korea, and Japan, with possible introduction to southwestern Asia and southeastern Europe.[8] Saponin and ziziphin, compounds found in the leaves, inhibit the perception of sweetness.[9] According to an ABC News article by Schremmer, AgriFutures Australia data from mid-2025 indicated approximately 60 growers and 50,000 trees in Australia.[10]

What the cited sources add

The CRFG account states that jujube originated in China where they have been cultivated for more than 4,000 years and there are over 400 cultivars.[11] Jujube seedlings were introduced into Europe at the beginning of the Christian era and carried to the U.S. in 1837.[11] A 2025 ABC News article reports that a study found jujubes are a functional food with antioxidants, fibre, and minerals like magnesium and calcium.[10] The CRFG account says the Chinese jujube appears to have no serious disease, insect, or nematode pests in the U.S.[11]

Growers said a national body was needed to establish export markets.[10] The CRFG account describes jujube as a small, deciduous tree growing to 40 feet tall in Florida but smaller in California.[11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Jujube" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Liu, "International Survey and Discussion on the Names of Genus Jujube and Its Main Species", Acta Horticulturae, August 2009, p. 81–88; "Ziziphus jujuba Mill." (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Jujube" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rushforth, "Trees of Britain and Europe", Collins, 1999, p. 1271–1272; "Morphological, pomological and nutritional traits of jujube (Zizyphus jujuba Mill.)", Zbornik Radova, 16–21 February 2014 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Jujube" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rushforth, "Trees of Britain and Europe", Collins, 1999, p. 1271–1272 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Jujube" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Liu, "International Survey and Discussion on the Names of Genus Jujube and Its Main Species", Acta Horticulturae, August 2009, p. 81–88 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Jujube" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rushforth, "Trees of Britain and Europe", Collins, 1999, p. 1271–1272; Clarke, "W. J. Bean Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles", John Murray, 1988, p. Supplement; Kirkbride, "(1753) Proposal to conserve the name Ziziphus jujuba against Z. zizyphus (Rhamnaceae)", Taxon, 2006, p. 1049–1050; Barrie, "Report of the General Committee: 11", Taxon, 2011, p. 1211–1214 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Jujube" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pasiecznik, "Ziziphus mauritiana (jujube)", 7 January 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Jujube" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: S. Chaudhary. "Rhamnaceae" in: S. Chaudhary (Ed). Flora of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Vol II (Part One) 2001. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Jujube" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ziziphus jujuba Mill."; Rushforth, "Trees of Britain and Europe", Collins, 1999, p. 1271–1272; "Ziziphus jujuba Mill." (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Jujube" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kurihara, "Characteristics of antisweet substances, sweet proteins, and sweetness-inducing proteins", Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 1992, p. 231–252 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Schremmer, "Farmers bet on nutritionally rich jujubes becoming next food trend", ABC News, 8 August 2025. facts only, no text reused. abc.net.au
  11. "JUJUBE", www.crfg.org, 23 March 2023. facts only, no text reused. crfg.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Jujube (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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