Badar / Common Jujube
Ziziphus mauritiana
Also known as Indian Jujube, Jujube Tree, Chinese Date
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat & more
- Flowering
- December-April
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Ziziphus mauritiana
- Genus
- Ziziphus
- Family
- Rhamnaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Dry deciduous and scrub forests
- Distribution
- Cultivated in most parts of the world
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh
- Flowering & fruiting
- December-April
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Recorded for Badar.
Flower & fruit characters
Typical of the Rhamnaceae family — flowering plants only; individual species can differ.
Local Names
- Hindi
- बदर Badar, बेर Ber, खिचड़ी Khichadi, ber
- Nepali
- अगुजे बयर Aguje Bayar, बयर Bayar
- Bengali
- বদরি Badari, বরই Boroi, কুল Kula
- Tamil
- இலந்தை Ilantai, இலந்தை
- Telugu
- బదరి Badari, గంగరేగు Gangaregu, కరఖండువు Karkhanduvu
- Kannada
- ಬಾರೆ Baare, ಬದರಿ Badari, ಬೊಗರಿ Bogari
- Malayalam
- ബദരി Badari, ചിരിമുള്ള് Chirimullu, ഇലന്ത Ilantha
- Marathi
- बदरी Badari, भेर Bher, बोर Bor, बोर
- Sinhala
- මසං
Badar in India
Ber is the hardy, thorny fruit tree of dry India — बदर Badar (Hindi), இலந்தை Ilantai (Tamil), బదరి Badari (Telugu), ಬಾರೆ Baare (Kannada), ബദരി Badari (Malayalam), बदरी Badari (Marathi). Ziziphus mauritiana is recorded across Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, fruiting reliably even in poor soils and drought.
Uses
Its small round fruit is eaten fresh, dried, or made into candy and pickle, and is a familiar winter snack. The leaves are fed to livestock and used to rear lac and tasar silk, and the fruit, seeds and bark have attributed traditional uses in Ayurveda.
How to Identify Badar
A thorny shrub or small tree with zig-zag branches bearing paired spines and oval leaves that are glossy above and densely whitish-woolly beneath — a reliable field mark. The round to oval fruits ripen yellow to reddish-brown.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Common Jujube called in different Indian languages?
- बदर Badar (Hindi); இலந்தை Ilantai (Tamil); బదరి Badari (Telugu); ಬಾರೆ Baare (Kannada); ബദരി Badari (Malayalam); बदरी Badari (Marathi); বদরি Badari (Bengali).
- When does ber fruit?
- Ber fruits mainly in winter (around December–February), which is when its round yellow-to-brown fruits are sold fresh in Indian markets.
- How do you identify a ber tree?
- Look for zig-zag thorny branches with paired spines and oval leaves that are shiny green above and white-woolly underneath.
Rhamnaceae
Buckthorn Family
Badar belongs to the Rhamnaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
All plant problem & care guides →More in Rhamnaceae
View all Rhamnaceae →Sources: GBIF — Ziziphus mauritiana (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · iNaturalist — Ziziphus mauritiana (regional names, India observations) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Ziziphus mauritiana (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)