I found this 15ft tree growing in a parking lot. The main trunk was about 1.5ft in diameter but looks to have been cut down at one point in time. It has very sharp thorns and the fruit is about 1 inch. Leaves are alternate. Any ideas? I posted it in the ID forum but figured I would put it here too.
Here's a better picture.
I bet stressbaby would know the answer to this. Could it be some sort of a Carissa?
It was desribed in the ID forum as "Jujube". I have never heard of it before but from the desription they provided it doesn't sound too good.
Here's an info sheet for you.
http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/jujube.html
I looked it up. The Latin name is Ziziphus jujuba and that's a dead match to what you have. Way to go for getting an ID on that. The Carissa has fruit that is similar in appearance but the leaves, although alternate, weren't quite right. The Carissa tree is also thorny. It was the only one I could think of. I've never run into the Jujube Tree before. What fun, the candy must have been named after the tree.
This thing had some pretty horrific looking curved thorns that could be very painful. It has to be a tough survivor because it has been growing in the center of that asphalt parking lot for decades. Curiosity got the best of me so I had to taste the fruit. It did have an apple flavor but the skin had a plastic-like texture. I felt a little nausea after eating them so I don't think I want anymore. LOL
Too bad it wasn't a Carissa. Those sort of taste like strawberries.
I have seen Ziziphus growing in northern iowa--perfectly hardy there.
escambiaguy: there is an old jujube growing on the grounds of Gaineswood, in Demopolis, which was a large plantation in the 1830s. The jujube there probably dates to the 1800s. Your jujube might have an interesting past. I wonder what was on that property before the parking lot was installed?
The parking lot is behind the movie theater and several other old stores that were built in the early 1900's. Judging by that rotting stump this one is very old. I will take a picture of it and post it afterwhile.
Maybe someone at your local historical society would do a property search for you, to find out what was there before the 1900s stores. The fruits of the Demopolis jujubes supposedly taste like dates. Sometimes these survivor trees can be designated "historic trees" which is supposed to protect them, but in fact the notoriety seems to make them more vulnerable. It is amazing how many people will vandalize trees if there is anything special about them.
Edible fruit, so might be worth keeping if you like the taste.
The Latin name is Ziziphus jujuba
Very cool... and of course there is a jujube tree growing behind a movie theater how else is the concession stand ever going to turn a profit? kt
Thanks resin. Maybe that's why I couldn't find a lot of information on that tree. I wasn't using the most current information to do my search. I'm totally unfamiliar with this tree. I don't think I've even seen one before. Maybe I have and didn't realize it but it's new to me. You don't by any chance know any of the history as to how the candy came to be named after this tree do you? Just curious as the fruits don't look anything like Jujubes. Maybe the seeds do?
Hi Quilib - sorry, don't know - I didn't even know there was a kind of candy called jujube, I've only heard of the tree :-)
Resin
Over here, Jujubes were candy that we used to look forward to being able to buy when we went to the drive in movies. If you plop a few in your mouth and bite down, you can make your teeth stick together as if they were cemented. Some kids would sacrifice their little Jujubes and wait until they were sure their parents weren't looking... then ping them off of other people's windshields. At ice rinks, mean kids would toss them out on the ice in the paths of kids they wanted to do a nose dive on the ice.
They are an American classic candy.
http://www.oldtimecandy.com/jujubes.htm
there is a story about the jujubes in Demopolis. At one time there was an organ grinder who had a monkey. The monkey somehow collected jujubes. (As I remember there were jujubes growing along the street.) When people, especially children, asked the organ grinder to play--they were expected to put a few coins in the monkey's cup. The monkey repaid them by throwing jujubes at them. This story is from the sisters Connie and Laura who remembered the organ grinder when they were children in Demopolis.
Goodness gracious! I'm old enough to remember the monkey and the organ grinder. We didn't have Jujube Trees when I was growing up that a monkey could pitch at us but I remember one particular monkey that used to spit grapes out at us and then clap his hands and squeal with delight. Miserable monkey. I hated getting grapes spit out at me. The monkey was trained to jump down and run around pulling at people's pants while it held up the cup for money.
Here's the picture of the old stump.
Here's a picture of the foliage and fruit.
That stump has nice gnarly bark on it. I like it.
equil: of interaction with our cousin Primates. At San Diego State in the 1960s there was an old silverback gorilla, named Albert. He delighted in throwing gorilla (feces)--especially at psychologists--especially the ones who were always giving him IQ tests. Thank goodness that was not my major! You should feel lucky you only got grapes thrown at you.
That gnarly old trunk looks pretty big for a jujube. I bet it has a story to tell. I wonder if the tree was named for the candy, since the term jujube seems to be sort of a nick name? From your description of the candy, the dried jujubes would have been similar (like dates). Both a hard chew and good weapons.
