Ziziphus caracutta
Roxb., Fl. Ind. 2: 361. 1824 & Fl. Ind. 1: 612.
1832. Z.
xylopyrus var. glaberrima Sedgew. in Indian For. 45: 71. 1919. Z.
glaberrima Santapau in J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 51(4): 803. 1953 & Fl.
Saurashtra 94. 1962.
Hindi: Bara-bera
Small trees, up to 7.5 m tall, rarely armed; branches glabrescent. Leaves ovate-elliptic, 3.2-6 x 1.8-2.8 cm, apex acute, obtuse or slightly emarginate, base acute or rounded, unequal, crenate, 3-nerved; the nerves not converging towards apex; petioles 6 mm long, tomentose; stipules 5 mm long, filiform, caducous, scars prominent. Inflorescence axillary fascicles; peduncles up to 12 mm long. Flowers 5 mm across, pale green. Calyx lobes 2-2.5 mm long, acute, thickened at apex, keeled up to the middle, glabrous within, pubescent without. Petals 2 mm long. Stamens equal to and opposite the petals; filaments somewhat thicker, anthers minute, 2-celled, dorsifixed. Disc 5-lobed, glabrous. Ovary tricarpellary, trilocular; stylar arms connate up to the middle. Drupes green, when ripe greyish brown or black, globose or slightly compressed at poles, 21 mm in diam.; peri carp woody. Seeds 3, black, orbicular, 8 mm in diam., compressed.
Fl. & Fr. : March - June.
Distrib. India: Scattered from near base to the top of the hills, also in scrub jungle near sea coast. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Notes. Z. caracutta Roxb. was described in 1824. Later authors reduced it as a synonym of Z. xylopyrus var. glaberrima. Santapau (1953) raised it to the status of a species Z. glaberrima. A critical study of the above two taxa reveals that they are conspecific and therefore, they are treated here under a single taxon Z. caracutta, being the earliest valid name.
Small trees, up to 7.5 m tall, rarely armed; branches glabrescent. Leaves ovate-elliptic, 3.2-6 x 1.8-2.8 cm, apex acute, obtuse or slightly emarginate, base acute or rounded, unequal, crenate, 3-nerved; the nerves not converging towards apex; petioles 6 mm long, tomentose; stipules 5 mm long, filiform, caducous, scars prominent. Inflorescence axillary fascicles; peduncles up to 12 mm long. Flowers 5 mm across, pale green. Calyx lobes 2-2.5 mm long, acute, thickened at apex, keeled up to the middle, glabrous within, pubescent without. Petals 2 mm long. Stamens equal to and opposite the petals; filaments somewhat thicker, anthers minute, 2-celled, dorsifixed. Disc 5-lobed, glabrous. Ovary tricarpellary, trilocular; stylar arms connate up to the middle. Drupes green, when ripe greyish brown or black, globose or slightly compressed at poles, 21 mm in diam.; peri carp woody. Seeds 3, black, orbicular, 8 mm in diam., compressed.
Fl. & Fr. : March - June.
Distrib. India: Scattered from near base to the top of the hills, also in scrub jungle near sea coast. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Notes. Z. caracutta Roxb. was described in 1824. Later authors reduced it as a synonym of Z. xylopyrus var. glaberrima. Santapau (1953) raised it to the status of a species Z. glaberrima. A critical study of the above two taxa reveals that they are conspecific and therefore, they are treated here under a single taxon Z. caracutta, being the earliest valid name.
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