526 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 



at 3. Z. spi'na-Chri'st/ Wilkl. Christ's Thorn Jujube. 



Identification. WiUd. Spec, 1. p. 1105. j Dec. Prod., 2. p. 20. ; Don's Mill., 2 p. 24; 



Synonymes. Tfhamnus splna-Chrl.t,' llin. Spec, 282., Desf.Fl AtU, 1. p. 201. /hamnus \ aUca 

 Forsk. .Egypt., 20+., but not of Lin.; Z. afriiana Mill. Diet., No. 4. ; Z. i^cpeca Lam Diet, 

 3. p. 320. i'Nabca Alp. Eg., 2. t. 4. p. 10. ; CEnuplia spinbsa Bauh. Pin., in. Oer. Eniac. Append., 

 t. 1605. ; 'Christkronen Judendorn, Ger. 



Etigravings. Alp. Eg., 2. t. 4. p. 10. ; Ger. Emac. Append., t. 160a 



Spec Char , &c Leaves ovate, obtuse, toothed, glabrous, or, beneath, pubescent. Prickles twin, 

 spreadine, one straight, the other ratl)er incurved. Flowers disposed upon peduncles, t"'"*' a"^"; 

 corymboiely divided, and villosely tomentosc Drupes ovate-globose. Inhabits the north ol 

 Africa and Palestine. {Dec. Prod., \i. p. -20.) A deciduous shrub growing to the heij^ht of 8 It. 

 in the north of Africa, in Palestine, in Ethiopia, and in Ivopt- Introouctd in 1 /,■.<•. 1 he flower, 

 are yellowish green ; the fruit oblong, about the size of a sloe, with a pleasant subacid taste, and 

 used as food by the inhabitants of Egypt and Arabia. Hasselquist thinks that this is the tr -e 

 from which the crown of thorns w;is taken which was put un the head of our Saviour during the 

 crucifixion ; but the more general opinion is in favour of i^aliiirus aculeMus. Linna?us raised it 

 from £»eds sent by Has^elquist, and Miller culiivated it, in 1759, from seeds ; but we have never 

 seen the plant, and do not know whether it is now to be piocured in England. 



Varietj/. 



a Z. 5. 2 incrmis Dec. Prod., ii. p. 20. — This has no prickles, and its 

 leaves are hirger, and very obtuse. 



5 4. Z. iscv'rvx lioxb. The incurved-.yxWf/ Jujube. 

 Identification. Roxb. Fl. Ind., 2. p. 364. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 20. ; Don's Mill, 2. p. 25. 

 Synotiytite. Z. paniculilta Hamilt. MSS. 



Spec Char Ike Leaves oval, obtusely acuminate, crenulate, 5-nerved, oblique at the base. Petioles 

 and nerves pubescent Prickles solitary, or twin, with one incur»eti. Flowers with the st>le parted 

 half-way down, disponed in bitid peiiuncled cymes. {Dec. Prod., ii. p. 20.) A tree growing to the 

 height of "-^O ft. • a native of Upper Neoal, and introduced in 1823. The flowers are of a yellowish 

 green, and appear in August and Septem'oer : they arc succeeded by small, round, dark purple 

 fruit. ' We have never seen the plant. 



* 5. Z. FLEXUO'SA Wall. The flexible Jujube. 



Identification. Wall, in Fl. Ind., 2. p. 'Xi. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 25. 



spec Char., &c. A smooth shrub, with spiny flexible br..nche3, and unarmed straight branchlcts. 

 rrickles twin, one very long and slri-ijiht, the other recurved. Leaves lanceolate, obtuse, crenale, 

 smooth. Flowers axillary, usually solitary. Style deeply bifid. {Don's Mill., ii. p. 2,").) A native 

 of Nepal where it grows to the height of 8 ft. It is considered an elegant plant, with mahogany- 

 coloured prickles, and soliUry yellowish flowers, rather large. It w.is introtluced in 1820; but we 

 have not seen the plant 



App. i. Half-hardy Species ofZizi/phus already introduced. 



Z. "Liittis Lam., the /fhamnus 7,btus of Linnaeus, {Dc.\f. Act. 

 Par., 1788, t,21.;SAfliu'i .ifr.. No. 632..f.6.}2.; andouryf^. U)4.)the 

 lotos of the Lotophagi, is adeciduous shrub, from 3 ft, to 4fl. in 

 height, of considerable interest, and eminently deserving of a 

 place against a conservative wall. It is a native of Persia, and 

 of the interior of Africa, especially of the kingdom of Tunis, in a 

 tract called Jereed, which was formerly the country of the Lo- 

 tophagi. It has the habit of the iJhamnus, and the flowers of rA 

 the common jujube ; but the fruits are smaller, rounder, and 

 sweeter, being about the size of sloes, and containing large 

 stones : they are borne on every part of the plant like goose- 

 berries, and have a puri)lish tinge. The farinaceous pulp is se- 

 parated from the stone, and laid by for winter use. Its flavour 

 approaches nearly to that of figs or dates. A kind of wine is 

 made from the fruit by expressing the juice, and diluting it 

 with water; but it will not keep more than a few days. The 

 natives of some parts of Africa convert the fruits into a sort of 

 bread, by exposing thein for some d.iys to the sun, and after- 

 wards pounding them gently in a wooden mortar, until the 

 farinaceous part is separated from the stones. The meal 



thus produced is then mixed with a little water, and formed into cakes, which, when dried in 

 the sun, resemble in colour and flavour the sweetest gingerbread. The stones are afterwards put 

 into a vessel of water, and shaken about, so as to separate the farina which may still adhere to them. 

 'This communicates a sweet and agreeable taste to the water; and, with the addition of a little (lounded 

 millet, it forms a pleasant liquor, called fundi, which is the common breakfast, in many parts of 

 Ludamar, during the months of February and Match. The fruit is collected by spreading a cloth 

 upon the ground, and beating the branches with a stick. The lotos of the Lotophagi must not be 

 confounded with the Egyptian lotos, which is the JNympha'a /,6tus ; with the lotosof Homer and Dios. 

 corides, which is a species of TVifblium ; with the lotos of Hippocrates, which is the Celtis australis ; 

 or with the Italian lotos, which is the Oiospy^ros i6tus. (Don's Mill., ii., p. 24.) Plants of this species 

 were introduced into Britain in 1731 ; but they are rarely to be met with, and, when they are, they 

 are treated as frame plants. Plants might probably be obtained from Italy, or from the French colo- 

 nial garden at Algiers. 



Z. nilida Roxb. is a native of China, introduced in 1822. The fruit is 1 in. long, pale yellow when 

 ripe, and edible ; the root produces innumerable suckers, which run to a great distance from the 

 parent tree. This species is recorded as a green.house plant, but will probably prove half-hardy. 



Z. parvifiilia Del. ( Voy.from Egypt) is a hardy'species, not yet introduced. Z. mucronAtn Willd. i> 

 a Cape species. Z. gldbra Roxb. is a native of the East Indies. Z. (Enoplia Mill., Z. tommti>sa Roxb., 



