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Myanmar Name – Zi

Common Name – Indian jujube, Indian plum, Chinese date, Chinee apple

Botanical Name – ZizyphusjujubaMill.

Family Name – Rhamnaceae

Habitat – Native to regions of southern Asia, including China and India, but it has been cultivated and naturalized in many other parts of the world. It thrives in a wide range of climates, including temperate and subtropical regions. It can be found growing in various types of soils but prefers well-drained, sandy or loamy soil.

Habit – A spiny, evergreen shrub or small tree up to 15 m high, with trunk 40 cm or more in diameter; spreading crown; stipular spines and many drooping branches.

Bark – Gray or brownish and has a somewhat rough texture. It tends to become more fissured and rough with age.

Leaves – Alternate, ovate or oblong elliptic with rounded apex, with 3 depressed longitudinal veins at the base. The leaves are about 2.5 to 3.2 cm long and 1.8 to 3.8 cm wide having fine tooth at margin. It is dark-green and glossy on the upper side and pubescent and pale-green to grey-green on the lower side.

Inflorescence – Small, greenish to yellowish, and are typically clustered in cymes or axillary inflorescences. They are not showy and often go unnoticed.

Flower – Tiny, yellow, 5-petalled and are usually in twos and threes in the leaf axils. Flowers are white or greenish white and the fruits are orange to brown, 2–3 cm long, with edible white pulp surrounding a 2-locular pyrene.

Fruit – A drupe, typically round to oval in shape and measures 1-2.5 centimeters in diameter. The fruit can vary in color from yellow to reddish-brown, depending on the variety. It has a sweet and somewhat date-like flavor when ripe.

Seed – A hard stone-like seed or pit. The seed is usually oblong or ovate in shape and is surrounded by the flesh of the fruit.

Flowering and Fruiting Time – Flowering from March to April and fruiting from  July to September.

Usage – Better digestion by eating fruits; It calms the mind, relieves stress and anxiety, and induces sound sleep.