History
It is thought to be native to North Africa and Syria, but moved east through India to China, where it has been cultivated for over 4,000 years. Jujube has been a part of Chinese medicine for at least 2,500 years and is mentioned in the Classic of Odes, a 6th century BCE anthology of Chinese poetry. Gerard, in the 17th century, maintained that the herb was an excellent tonic for all parts of the body, especially the lungs and kidneys. Chinese dates are among the most persistent and long-lived imported trees in the South. Some sources indicate that they were introduced from Europe by Robert Chisolm in 1837, and first planted in Beaufort, North Carolina. They have also been mentioned as being in the early Spanish missions in California, and were possibly brought to America at an earlier time. The ancient Chinese herbalist Shennanog first recorded its healing powers. He admired the jujube as an almost miraculous health tonic and prescribed it to nourish the blood, liver and spleen.
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Description
The trees average 25 feet in height and are covered with a rough, brown bark. They have many branches, with annual thorny branchlets bearing alternate, oval -oblong leaves of a clear green colour, with three to five strongly-marked, longitudinous veins. Nice lance shaped leaves turn a brilliant yellow in the fall. The small flowers are pale yellow and solitary. Jujube-berries are roundish-oval or oblong drupes, about the size of an olive. The skin is vivid-red when fresh, but when dried becomes brownish-red, and is leathery, thin, and wrinkled. The pulp is soft, yellowish, mucilaginous, sweet, and acidulous, and encloses the ovate, pointed stone. Jujube-berries contain sugar and mucilage, while tannin is a constituent of the bark. When fresh the crabapple like fruits is sweet yet tangy. |
Range
The jujube originated in China where they have been cultivated for more than 4,000 years and where there are over 400 cultivars. The plants travelled beyond Asia centuries ago and today are grown to some extent in Russia, northern Africa, southern Europe, the Middle East and the south-western United States. |
Habitat
The jujube will grow in different soils and is resistant to alkalinity and salinity. It has a low chill requirement, yet it is cold hardy. The Jujube berries thrives best in acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It can also grow in light sandy, medium loamy and heavy clay soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. |
Cultivation
Seeds are best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Stored seed requires 3 months warm then 3 months cold stratification Give gentle warmth (18-25C) to germinate. Seedling sends out a deep tap root so use the right sized container. Grow on for 2 years before seating out in permanent site. Germination should take place in the first spring, though it might take another 12 months. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant out in early summer. Root cuttings are done in a greenhouse in the winter. Best results are achieved if a temperature of 5 - 10°c can be maintained. Seedling sends out a deep tap root so use the right sized container. Grow on for 2 years before seating out in permanent site. |
Flowering Season
The flowers which are hermaphrodite are bloom from April through May. |
Pests and Diseases
Aphids, mites, leafhoppers, thrips, mealybugs are the most common pests which attacks the jujube berries. They are also occasionally disturbed by scales, whiteflies and blackflies. |
Parts Used
The fruits, leaves and the bark are the most commonly used parts of the tree for its commercial and medicinal purposes. |
Medicinal Applications
- It is used internally in the treatment of palpitations, insomnia, nervous exhaustion, night sweats and excessive perspiration.
- A decoction of the roots has been used in fevers.
- The fruits have medicinal use and are considered to be cooling and tonic.
- Jujube has been used in topical formulations for anti-inflammation, antiwrinkle, moisturizer, and sunburn relief.
- It is also used in the treatment of sore throat.
- The plant is a folk remedy for anaemia, hypertonia, nephritis and nervous diseases.
- Jujube berries helps in calming the mind.
- It also helps in cleansing the body through detoxification and treating fatigue and weakness.
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Commercial Applications
- The wood is strong, durable, and smooth and it is used for the manufacture of musical instruments, artwork, carts, and ships.
- It is a source of fodder for cattle, camels, and goats.
- Jujube berries also yields honey.
- Traditionally used for making jam, jelly, fruit pulp for cakes, puddings and more.
- It makes an excellent fuel and charcoal.
- The fruit can be used as a coffee substitute
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Astrology
According to the astro reports the jujube berry tree is governed by the celestial body Mars. |
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Folklores and Myths
The Chinese have been growing and eating jujubes for more than four thousand years and have more jujube trees than any other type of fruit tree. From Indian legends, the tree is hard because it's blessed with a boon that no matter how badly it was cut, it will not die, and even if a single root of it was left, it will spring up again... In India, the tree is held sacred: fruits are offered to Siva, and the plant is known as the "Tree which removes sorrow". Cold hardy, mature plants withstand hard freeze. Deep in the cool mists of China's Shandong Province grows an ancient fruit of almost magical power. Cultivated for 4,000 years and endowed with life-giving nutrients and steeped in legend, is the mystic fruit we know today as the jujube. Early physicians understood its gifts. They wrote of it thousands of years ago in the first known Chinese manual of medicine. So rich in nutrients, high priests called it the "Fruit of Immortality." | |
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