View crop

View crop Data sheet EcoPort

Ziziphus mucronata

Authority Willd. Family Synonyms Zizyphus adelensis Del., Zizyphus mitis A. Rich, Zizyphus mucronata Willd. var. glauca Schinz, Zizyphus mucronata Willd. var. globrata Sonder, Zizyphus mucronata Willd. var. inermis Engl, Zizyphus mucronata Willd. var. pubescens Sonder Common names Ado kurkura (Amargna), aros, blinkblaar-wag-'n-bietjie, bogwood, buffalo thorn, buffalo-thorn jujube, buffelsdoring, Cape thorn, cat thorn, Foch (Amargna), Gammo-gadie (Wolayetgna), haak-en-steek-wag-'n-bietjie, isilahla, isilahlankosi, katdoring, Koopta (Konsogna), mokalabata, mokgalo, mokgalwa, moonaona, mphasamhala, mukhalu, mutshetshete, omukaru, omukekete (Ovambo), umhlahlankosi, umkhobonga, umlahlabantu, umPhafa Editor Ecocrop code 11001

Notes
DESCRIPTION: It is usually a deciduous shrub or medium-sized tree up to 9 m tall with a trunk that is frequently crooked; branches spreading, often drooping, branching well above ground or near the base. Leaves ovate to broadly ovate, 2.5-8 x 1.9-8 cm, shiny, densely hairy to quite smooth. Fruit a round, reddish-brown, glossy drupe. Trees with 2 types of fruit, the small type 7-10 mm in diameter and the large type 15-25 mm in diameter, all often remaining on the tree after the leaves have fallen. USE: The fruit is eaten fresh or dried, in meal or porridge. The young leaves can be cooked and eaten as spinach. Seeds are roasted, crushed and used as a coffee substitute. Both leaves and fruits are browsed and used as fodder. The flowers are a source of honey. The wood is hard and makes good firewood and charcoal. The bark contains 12-15% tannin. Roots are used as a remedy for pain and to treat snakebite. Boils and other skin infections are treated with leaf paste, and this, together with an infusion of the roots, is a treatment for tubercular gland swellings, measles, dysentery, lumbago and chest complaints. The bark is used as an emetic; bark decoction is used for rheumatism and stomach troubles, bark infusion is used to treat coughs, and bark is used in a steam bath to purify the complexion. It is planted as a living fence. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial. COMMON NAMES: Cape thorn. FURTHER INF: It grows in areas dominated by thorny vegetation in both temperate and tropical climates. Also found in open scrubland, woodland, forest margins and riverine vegetation. It is a very hardy species, most common in dry areas; it is resistant to both frost and drought. Tolerant to shallow soils, seasonal waterlogging, salt spray and soil salinity. Regarded as an indicator of underground water.
Sources
SOURCE: ICRAF Agroforestree Database (22.07.02) E11001