Ziziphus zizyphus

Jujube, Jujube

Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: tree · Not Native

Jujube is a naturalized tree found in northern Sierra Nevada foothills and northern Sacramento Valley in occasional garden settings at an elevation of 270 meters. Flowering from May to July, this tree produces small yellow flowers in compact clusters of 2 to 8 blooms at branch nodes. Growing with pendulous, zigzag twigs and reaching heights under 12 meters, it features distinctive gray to black shaggy bark. Its deciduous leaves are bright green and shiny on top, elliptic to obovate, with serrated margins measuring 25 to 60 millimeters long. The fruit is a fleshy red drupe, adding seasonal visual interest to the tree's appearance.

Habitat: Occasional garden escape

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 270 m

Bioregions: n SNF, n ScV

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