CHAP. XXXV. 



HAMNA^E;E. ZI'ZYPHUS. 



525 



Char., $c. Branchlets glabrous. 

 Leaves ovate, retuse, denticulate gla- 

 brous, or, beneath, pubescent along the 

 nerves. Prickles not any, or twin, one 

 of them recurved. Drupe ovate-ob- 

 long. A deciduous tree, a native of 

 Syria, whence it was brought to Rome* 

 during the reign of Augustus. (Dec. 

 Prod., ii. p. 19.) Introduced into Eng- 

 land in 1640. In its native country, 

 it grows to the height of 20 ft. or 30 ft., 

 with a thick cylindrical stem, somewhat 

 twisted. The bark is brown, and rather 

 chapped. The branches are numerous, 

 pliant, armed with prickles, zigzag in 

 their direction ; the prickles at the joints 

 being two of unequal size, of which one 

 is almost straight, and the other shorter 

 and quite straight. The leaves are al- 

 ternate and oval-oblong, somewhat hard and coriaceous' The flowers are 

 small, axillary, of a pale yellow colour, with short peduncles. The fruit is 

 oval-oblong, resembling that of the olive; at first green, afterwards yellow, 

 and entirely red when ripe. It has a mild and vinous taste. The pulp 

 encloses a nut, having a long point at one of the extremities, and it con- 

 tains two seeds. In the south of France, the tree flowers in the begin- 

 ning of summer, and the fruit ripens in the beginning of autumn. In the 

 neighbourhood of Paris, it flowers in autumn, and the fruit never arrives 

 at maturity. In England, we have only seen very small plants, kept in 

 pots, in pits. 



Geography, History, $c. This tree is indigenous in Syria, and other parts 

 of Asia, also in Greece (see p. 165.) ; and it is cultivated on both shores of the 

 Mediterranean. It has been acclimatised in Italy since the time of Augustus, 

 and cultivated for its fruit in different parts of that country, as far north as 

 Genoa. Pliny, speaking of the jujube, says that " this tree, and the Azeda- 

 rdch, were imported into Italy, from Africa and Syria, in the reign of Au- 

 gustus, and planted on the ramparts of Rome, where they made a fine ap- 

 pearance, from their heads rising above the houses." Du Hamei recommends 

 the tree to be cultivated generally, on account of the beauty of its foliage ; 

 and, in Languedoc, on account of its fruit. The taste of the fruit is somewhat 

 acid; but the flesh is firm, succulent, and, when dried, it makes a very 

 desirable sweetmeat. The syrup of jujubes is employed for abating fever, 

 and purifying the blood; and in coughs and catarrhs: lozenges for the 

 latter purposes are also made of it. The plant prefers a soil that is rather 

 dry, to one that is moist ; and, when once established, it is by no means 

 liable to suffer from the winters of Paris. It is easily increased by cuttings of 

 the roots, whether of young or old trees ; or by suckers, which it throws up 

 in the greatest abundance. Seeds may also be procured of it from Italy. We 

 have seen the fruit on the tree in the garden of M. Cels, at Paris, in 1828; 

 and gathered it in that of Signer di Negro, at Genoa, in 1819. In 1835, there 

 were plants of this species in the Fulham Nursery. 



* 2. Z. SINE'NSIS Lam. The Chinese Jujube. 



Identification. Lam. Diet., 3. p. 318. ; Dec. Prod. 2. p. 19. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 24. 



Synonyme. .flhimnus Zizyphus Lour. Ft. Cock., 158. 



Spec. Char. S(c. Branchlets pubescent. Leaves ovate-oblong, acute, serrate, glabrous, except 

 beneath, along the nerves. Prickles twin, straightish, diverging. Petals reflexed. Drupes ovate. 

 Reputed to be a native of China, apparently on the authority of the Paris Garden ; but it is a 

 question whether correctly. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 19.) Introduced into England in 1818, and 

 described in the Nouvenu Du Hamel as requiring protection during winter in the Paris Garden. 

 The name is in Ix>ddigcs's Catalogue, but the plant in their arboretum was dead in 1835, and we 

 have never seen it. 



