1489

 

Ziziphus oenopolia (L.) Mill.

Synonym	:	Rhamnus oenopolia L.
Family	:	Rhamnaceae
Local name	:	English- Jackal Jujube Malayalam-  Cheriyalanta
Flowering and fruiting period	:	August - October
Distribution	:	India, Thailand
Habitat	:	Semi Evergreen forest
Uses	:	The juice of the roots is applied to fresh cuts and wounds. A decoction of the root bark is used to heal fresh wounds. The bark contains tannins and is astringent. A paste of the inner bark is applied as a poultice to obstinate wounds. A decoction of the fruit is used as a treatment for indigestion. The fruit is an ingredient of a stomachache pill. Fruits are edible as raw or cooked.The plant is very prickly, and is grown as a hedge to provide a barrier to keep out livestock and other grazing animals.
Key botanical characters:  Jackal Jujube is a very thorny straggling shrub with rusty-velvety young branches with paired thorns. Thorns are one straight and the other recurved. Alternately arranged simple leaves are ovate to ovate-lancelike, often oblique, with three prominent nerves and numerous transverse nervules. Tiny green flowers are borne in nearly stalkless velvety cymes in leaf axils. Fruits are spherical or obovoid drupes, black, shining, seeds woody.