| Type | Indigenous |
|---|---|
| Family | Rhamnaceae |
| Synonym | Ziziphus jujuba (L.) Gaertn. |
| Local Name | Elentha |
| Habit | Small sized tree |
| Tree Seed | Fruit type: Drupe. Seed weight: 700 to 1,800 seeds/kg (FRI, 1981, Kumar and Bhanja, 1992; Luna, 1996); 650 to 3500 seeds/kg (Karlowitz, 1991; Chacko et al., 2002). Vernacular name: Cherumali, Elentha (Malayalam), Elandai, Yellantha (Gamble, 1922) (Tamil), Berii, Baer, Ber (Hindi) (Chacko et al., 2002). Flowering season: April to October, September to October (Bose et al., 1998). Fruiting season: October to March, January to March (Bose et al., 1998). February to March and October to December (Luna, 1996; Chacko et al., 2002) Germination type: Epigeal (Chacko et al., 2002). Germination percentage: 31 to 91 (Sen Gupta, 1937; FRI, 1981; Chacko et al., 2002). Method of propagation: Vegetatively by softwood grafting, by seed, root suckers. Budding (Singhrot and Kajal, 1986). |
| Botanical Features | Trees, bark dark grey or nearly black, with deep vertical cracks, reddish and fibrous inside; branchlets, petiole and underside of leaves white buff, tomentose. Leaves simple, alternate, distichous; stipular spines solitary or in pairs, straight or one of them recurved; nodes slightly enlarged around the leaf scars; petiole 4-8 mm, stout; lamina 1.5-4 x 1.5-3 cm, ovate, elliptic-ovate, elliptic-orbicular or suborbicular, base oblique, subcordate or round, apex round and retuse, margin glandular-denticulate or serrate, glabrous above, coriaceous, strongly 3-ribbed from base, flowers bisexual, greenish-yellow, fruit a drupe 1 x 0.5 cm, oblong-globose, yellow or orange when ripe; 1-2-celled; seeds 1 or 2. |