Ziziphus mucronata is usually a spiny, deciduous shrub or medium-sized tree growing up to 9 metres tall, though specimens up to 30 metres have been reported.
The bole is frequently crooked; the branches spreading, often drooping.
A multipurpose tree, it is harvested from the wild and also sometimes cultivated (especially as a hedge) for its edible, medicinal and other uses.

Known Hazards

None known

Habitat

Found in dry savannahs in areas dominated by thorny vegetation in both temperate and tropical climates. It is also found in open scrubland, woodland, forest margins and riverine vegetation.

Cultivation Status

Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the drier tropics and subtropics, found at elevations from near sea level to 2,000 metres.
It grows best in areas where annual daytime annual temperature are within the range 12 - 30°c, though it can tolerate 8 - 36°c.
It prefers a mean annual rainfall of 400 - 800mm, but can tolerate 300 - 1,000mm.
The plant is resistant to at least some frost.
Requires a sunny position.
A very adaptable tree, growing in all types of soil and standing intense heat and cold equally well.
Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 8, tolerating 5 – 9.
Established plants are drought tolerant.
Plants are tolerant of salt-laden winds and some salt in the soil.
A fast-growing tree, under good conditions it can reach a height of 4 - 6 metres within 4 - 5 years.
Trees respond well to pollarding and coppicing.

Edible Uses

Fruit raw or cooked.
The thin, mealy flesh has a sweetish taste.
The fruit can be dried for later use and is also ground into a powder and then mixed with various grains to make a porridge etc.
The globose fruit is 12 - 20mm in diameter.
The young leaves can be cooked and eaten as spinach; they are not very palatable but are nutritious.
Seeds are roasted, crushed and used as a coffee substitute.

Medicinal

A poultice of the powdered and baked roots is widely used in Africa as a remedy for almost any type of pain.
As part of the treatment, the poultice is eaten by the patient once it has been removed from the affected area.
The roots are used to treat snakebite.
A paste made from the leaves is used in the treatment of boils and other skin infections.
The leaf paste is mixed with an infusion of the roots and then used as a treatment for tubercular gland swellings, measles, dysentery, lumbago and chest complaints.
The bark is used as an emetic.
A decoction of the bark is used in the treatment of rheumatism and stomach troubles.
An infusion of the bark is used to treat coughs.
The bark is used in a steam bath to purify the complexion.

Agroforestry Uses

A useful species to plant as a hedge around camps. It forms an impenetrable hedge for at least 10 years before the crown is too high off the ground to act as a barrier.
The root system is not aggressive.
The plant has been used to stabilize soils along the banks of rivers.
When the plant is growing wild, it is often seen as an indication of underground water.

Other Uses

The bark contains 12 - 15% tannin.
The seeds are used in rosaries.
The yellow-pink wood is hard, tough and bends well.
Although it is termite-resistant, it is not very durable in the ground.
It is used for building poles and posts, live and dry fences, and for hunting and fishing weaponry. Whips and bows are made from saplings and from the flexible shoots. Thorny branches are sometimes used to make kraals.
The wood makes a good fuel and charcoal.

Propagation

Seed - remove the flesh from around the seed then soak the seed in cold water for 6 hours.
Cover the seed in seedling trays with a thin layer of river sand and keep moist. Seeds usually germinate in 2 - 3 weeks with a minimum of 75% germination.
Seedlings transplant easily into black nursery soil but they have long taproots and care should be taken not to damage them.
Root suckers.