Rhamnaceae
Ziziphus

Ziziphus mucronata Willd.

First published in Enum. Pl. Hort. Berol.: 251 (1809)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tropical & S. Africa, Madagascar. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Rhamnaceae, R. B. Drummond. Flora Zambesiaca 2:2. 1966

Morphology General Habit
Shrub or tree to 12 m. in height; branchlets glabrous or pubescent.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-lamina ovate to broadly ovate, 4–7·7 × 2·8–4·7 cm., apex obtuse to acute or often mucronate, margin serrulate, base subcordate, markedly asymmetric, 3-nerved from the base, glabrous, glabrescent to tomentose; petiole up to 7 mm. long, glabrescent to tomentose; stipules usually spinescent, usually one hooked and one straight at each node.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Cymes glabrescent to tomentose, sessile or shortly pedunculate; pedicels (1) 2 (-5) mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals up to 2 mm. long, deltate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals cucullate with the limb ± 1 mm. in diam. and the claw 0·5 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens with filaments up to 2 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc
Disk 2 mm. in diam., 10-lobed.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary immersed in the disk; style shortly 2-fid, up to 2 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits globose, c. 1·5 cm. in diam.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds compressed.
Seedling
In seedlings the leaves are small and the spinescent stipules well-developed.
Morphology General Spines
Often an individual will show a tendency not to produce spines, but usually a few branches on the tree can be found with spinescent stipules.
[FZ]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/146199970/146199972

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

Rhamnaceae, Marshall C. Johnston (University of Texas Herbarium). Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1972

Morphology General Habit
Shrubs or small trees to 15(–30) m. tall, armed with spinous stipules or rarely unarmed.
Morphology General Bark
Bark of bole dark grey, smooth to rough to corrugated;slash-wood crimson, soft.
Morphology Branches
Year-old branches often zig-zag.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blades ovate, (2–)3–6(–8) cm. long, (l.3–)2–3.5(–4.7) cm. wide, at base often markedly asymmetrical, rounded or rarely very shallowly cordate, acute, often acuminate or rarely obtuse, serrulate, 3-nerved from base, the nerves of the dull upper surface only slightly if at all impressed; petioles 2–7 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Cymes (5–)10–15 mm. long, and about as thick, (3–)7–25-flowered; peduncles 1–3 mm. long; pedicels 1–3 mm. long in flower, 3–5 mm. long in fruit.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals 1.5–2 mm. long, spreading in flower.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals 1–1.5 mm. long, spreading in flower.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary 2-celled; stigmas 2.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit globose, 12–20 mm. thick, reddish or reddish brown at maturity.
[FTEA]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

M. Thulin. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1–4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Distribution
Widespread in drier parts of tropical and southern Africa, Madagascar, and in Arabia.
Morphology General Habit
Shrub or tree up to 10 m or more tall, usually ± spiny but sometimes unarmed; bark dark grey, fissured; branchlets reddish to brownish
Morphology Leaves
Leaves glabrous or puberulous on petiole and midrib; petiole 2–13 mm long; blade ovate, 2–9 x 1.5–6 cm, serrulate or crenulate, usually acute to acuminate at the apex, often asymmetrical at the base
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers glabrous, yellowish-green, in few- to many-flowered cymes
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals 1.5–2 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals 1–1.5 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Drupe 10–15 mm in diam., reddish.
[FSOM]

Rhamnaceae, Hutchinson and Dalziel. Flora of West Tropical Africa 1:2. 1958

Morphology General Habit
An erect or scandent shrub (or, in other parts of Africa, a tree)
Morphology Branches
Dark reddish-brown branchlets
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers greenish-yellow.
[FWTA]

Common Names

English
Buffalo thorn, Shiny-leaf wait-a-bit

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Plants and People Africa

    • Common Names from Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com/
    • © Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/