Factsheet F26: Jujube – Ziziphus jujube

Cultivars of Ziziphus jujuba (Syns. Z.sativa, Z.vulgaris) – jujube, Chinese jujube, red date or Chinese date -have long been grown for their excellent dessert fruits. Native to temperate Asia, where there are many cultivars grown for fruit, it has become naturalised in many other warm temperate and subtropical regions; jujube plants were brought from Syria to the Mediterranean in ancient Roman times. In China it is considered one of the five principal fruits.