Ziziphus mauritiana

Ziziphus mauritiana, the Indian jujube or ber, is a spiny evergreen or semi-deciduous shrub or small tree of the buckthorn family, usually 3 to 12 m tall, with a spreading crown and drooping, often zigzag branches armed with short, sharp, sometimes hooked spines. The alternate leaves are oval to elliptic, glossy dark green above and densely whitish- or brownish-woolly beneath, with three prominent veins from the base and finely toothed margins. Small, fragrant, greenish-yellow flowers are clustered in the leaf axils. The fruit is a fleshy, rounded to oval drupe, ripening from green through yellow to reddish-brown, with sweet to acidic mealy pulp surrounding a single hard stone. Native to South Asia and now widespread across the warmer parts of Africa, Asia, and Australia, it tolerates drought and poor soils and is cultivated for its edible fruit.