Kalpana Kalpana (Editor)

Ziziphus mucronata

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Kingdom
  
Plantae

Family
  
Rhamnaceae

Scientific name
  
Ziziphus mucronata

Order
  
Rosales

Genus
  
Ziziphus

Rank
  
Species

Ziziphus mucronata httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Similar
  
Ziziphus abyssinica, Pappea, Jujube, Terminalia sericea, Peltophorum africanum

Asma ziziphus mucronata as 28


Ziziphus mucronata, known as the Buffalo thorn is a species of tree in the Rhamnaceae family, native to southern Africa.

Contents

Description

The Buffalo thorn is a small to medium size tree, reaching a height of about 10m (33ft). It can survive in a variety of soil types, occurring in many habitats, mostly open woodlands, often on soils deposited by rivers, and grows frequently on termite mounds.

Buffalo thorn has distinctive zigzag branchlets, and hooked and straight thorns. The bark is a red-brown (on young stems) or roughly mottled grey, cracked in small rectangular blocks revealing a stringy red underbark. The fruit are roughly the size of a grape, and ripen into a deep brown-red.

Uses

The leaves are edible and can be cooked into spinach. During the Second Boer War, the stones were roasted and ground as a substitute for coffee. The fruit are not very tasty, though a type of beer can be made from the fruit. The Ovambo people use it to distill ombike, a traditional liquor.

References

Ziziphus mucronata Wikipedia


Similar Topics