Ziziphus parryi var. parryi

Parry's jujube, Parry's Jujube

Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Parry's jujube is a California native shrub found in southern California coastal areas, San Bernardino Mountains, Peninsular Ranges, western Mojave Desert, and western edge of Sonoran Desert in chaparral habitats at elevations of 15 to 1,220 meters. Flowering from February to April, this plant produces small white flowers on compact clusters with purple-green hypanthiums. Growing up to 4 meters tall with stiff, spreading branches tipped with thorns, the shrub has distinctive pale green-yellow to purplish twigs. Its leaves are deciduous and elliptic to obovate, approximately 10 to 25 millimeters long, with a dull olive-green color and nearly entire margins. The fruit is a dry, brown structure 10 to 25 millimeters long with a distinctive beak-like tip.

Habitat: Uncommon. Chaparral

Bloom period: Feb-Apr

Elevation: 15-1220 m

Bioregions: SCo, SnBr, PR, DMoj, w edge DSon

California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial, Orange

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.