S.S. Jagwan, N. Singh, C.S.S.S.P.G. College Machhra, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
Abstract: The wild edible Indian jujube is one of the diffused species wild resources in India. The Indian species described under the name Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk., is native from the province of Yunnan in Southern China to Afghanistan, Malaysia and Queensland. Zizyphus jujuba has been distinguished into two main groups, Chinese jujube and Indian jujube. Actual Taxonomy of Zizyphus as found in the literature as well as in various herbaria is all chaos and confusion. Till now several attempts has been made in Indian flora to study Taxonomy of Zizyphus species, but the nomenclature of entire genus is unclear as also the taxonomic identity of the varieties. In most of the Indian flora, Indian jujube has been described under the name of Zizyphus jujube. but several botanists distinguish Indian jujube as Zizyphus mauritina.Lam. The present paper discusses the comparative study of Zizyphus jujube mill. and Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk. and also study actual taxonomic state of Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk.and Zizyphus jujuba Mill. on the basis of leaf and fruit morphology, which helps us to identify the species present in India.
Keywords: Zizyphus jujuba Mill., Taxonomic state, Flora, Zizyphus Mauritiana Lamk., Leaf Morphology, Fruit Morphology