THE BER TREE
Family – Rhamnaceae.
Scientific name – Ziziphus jujuba.
COMMON NAMES –
1) Commonly known as Ber tree.
2) In India it is known as the Indian Jujube.
3) Ziziphus is from zizouf, the Arabic name
for one of the species.
4) Jujuba a latinised form of jujube, the name
of the fruit.
GENERAL INFORMATION –
1) A medium sized tree or large shrub easily
recognised by the spines at the base of the leaf stalks.
2) These spines are usually present especially
on the lower branches and occur ill pairs, one being straight and the other
curved.
3) Leaves elliptical, rounded at each end,
with 3 strong nerves, deep green above, white or buff coloured and velvety
beneath.
4) Flowers very small, green, the petals
hooded over the stamens and more or less concealing them until the flowers is
fully expanded.
5) In most plants the stamens when the same in
number as the petals are placed inside the petals opposite the gaps between the
latter.
6) In this plants they are opposite to the
base of the petals.
7) The fruit of this plant is ovoid, varying
in size and colour 0.5 – 1.5 inches long, with a tough thin skin, rather dry pulp
and a bony stone.
8) The ber is a variable plant, the cultivated
forms are not quite the same in appearance as the wild ones and in addition
there are other species of Ziziphus both wide and occasionally cultivated which
resemble it in most respects.
9) When grown for fruit it is often budded or
grafted on to a wild stock and such trees are usually rather stunted with
wide-spreading drooping branches.
USES OF THE BER TREE:
1) The principal use of the ber is for its
fruit of which there are rainy varieties.
2) The fruits of the wild ber are used mainly
for sherbet.
3) The bark and many other parts of the tree
are used medicinally.
4) The kernels of the stones are eaten.
5) The branches are used for fencing fields.
6) Lac is sometimes cultivated on the ber and
it is a food for tasar and silk-worms.
7) The timber is hard and tough and is used
for agricultural implements.
HABITAT OF THE BER TREE:
1) Throughout India in the dry but not arid
regions.
2) It is found at Burma and Indo-China.
