Churna / Wrinkled Jujube
Ziziphus rugosa
- Habit
- Climbing shrub
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu & more
- Flowering
- November-July
How to identify Churna
Identify Churna by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a climbing shrub habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Wrinkled (rugose) leaf surface, large tree.
- Confirm leaf shape: Ovate (egg-shaped, broad at base).
- Confirm fruit type: Berry.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: November-July.
- In India, compare location records such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Rhamnaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Churna.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Ziziphus rugosa
- Genus
- Ziziphus
- Family
- Rhamnaceae
- Habit
- Climbing shrub
- Habitat
- Grasslands and deciduous forests, also in the plains
- Distribution
- India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Kerala, Assam, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Madhya Pradesh, Sikkim, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, West Bengal
- Flowering & fruiting
- November-July
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- Ovate (egg-shaped, broad at base)recorded
Characters marked “recorded” are for Churna itself; the rest are typical of the Rhamnaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Fruit type
- BerryrecordedA fleshy fruit with seeds embedded directly in the pulp, no central stone.“The berry-sized fruit is known in India as zunna berry, chunna fruit or churna fruit.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Fruit
- Drupe
Characters marked “recorded” are for Churna itself; the rest are typical of the Rhamnaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- चूरना Churna
- Nepali
- गमराइ Gamaraai, हर्याय बयर Haryaaya Bayar, काँटा बयर Kaantaa Bayar
- Tamil
- தொடரி Totari, துடரி
- Telugu
- గొట్టికంప Gottikampa, పిండు పరిఘము Pindu Parighamu, గొట్టికంప
- Kannada
- ಬಿಳಿ ಚೂರಿಮುಳ್ಳು Bili Churimullu, ಬೊಮ್ಮರಲು Bommaralu, ಚೊಟ್ಟೆ Chotte
- Malayalam
- മലന്തുടലി Malanthudali, മലന്തുടലി
- Marathi
- चुरण Churan, तोरण Toran, तुरण Turan, तोरण
About Churna
Wrinkled Jujube (Ziziphus rugosa) is a climbing shrub in the Rhamnaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and 13 other states. It grows in grasslands and deciduous forests, also in the plains. Flowering and fruiting run from November to July.
Rhamnaceae
Buckthorn Family
Churna belongs to the Rhamnaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Rhamnaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Churna or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides