Ziziphus obtusifolia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordoo: Rosales

Familia: Rhamnaceae
Subfamilia: Ziziphoideae
Tribus: Paliureae
Genus: Sarcomphalus
Species: Sarcomphalus obtusifolius
Varietates: S. o. var. canescens – S. o. var. obtusifolius
Name

Sarcomphalus obtusifolius (Hook. ex Torr. & A.Gray) Hauenschild, Taxon 65(1): 56. (2016)
Synonyms

Basionym
Rhamnus obtusifolia Hook. ex Torr. & A.Gray, Fl. N. Amer. (Torr. & A. Gray) 1(4): 685 (1840)
Homotypic
Ziziphus obtusifolia (Hook. ex Torr. & A.Gray) A.Gray
Condalia obtusifolia (Hook. ex Torr. & A.Gray) Weberb.
Condaliopsis obtusifolia (Hook. ex Torr. & A.Gray) Suess.
Homotypic
Condalia lycioides (A.Gray) Weberb.
Condalia lycioides var. microphylla Loes.
Condalia rigida Wiggins
Condaliopsis lycioides (A.Gray) Suess.
Condaliopsis rigida (Wiggins) Wiggins
Paliurus texanus Scheele
Ziziphus lycioides A.Gray

References

Hauenschild, F., Matuszak, S., Muellner-Riehl, A.N. & Favre, A. 2016. Phylogenetic relationships within the cosmopolitan buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae) support the resurrection of Sarcomphalus and the description of Pseudoziziphus gen. nov. Taxon 65(1): 47-64. DOI: 10.12705/651.4 Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Sarcomphalus obtusifolius in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Dec. 6. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2020. Sarcomphalus obtusifolius. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2020. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Dec. 6. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Sarcomphalus obtusifolius. Published online. Accessed: Dec. 6 2020.
Tropicos.org 2020. Sarcomphalus obtusifolius. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Dec. 6.

Vernacular names
English: Lotebush

Ziziphus obtusifolia is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family known by several common names, including lotebush, graythorn, gumdrop tree, and Texas buckthorn.[1]

Distribution

The plant is native to the South Central and Southwestern United States, the California deserts, and central through northern Mexico.[2]

It grows in shrubby and scrubby desert habitats, grasslands and prairie, woodlands, and other habitat types. It can be found among desert plants such as honey mesquite, smooth mesquite, ocotillo and creosote.[1]

Description

Ziziphus obtusifolia is a shrub with many branches forming a thorny tangle which may exceed 3 metres (9.8 ft) tall and approach 4 metres (13 ft) at times.

The leaves are deciduous and are absent for much of the year, leaving the shrub a naked thicket of gray twigs coated in waxy whitish hairs. The ends of the twigs taper into sharp-tipped thorns. The thick, glandular gray or green leaves have oval blades 1 or 2 centimeters long.

The inflorescence is a cluster of several dull yellow-green flowers. The fruit is a mealy, juicy drupe containing one seed.

The fruit provides food for many species of birds and mammals.[1] Birds use the shrub as a nesting site and the southern plains woodrat uses the twigs to build its houses.[1]

References

US Forest Service Fire Ecology
"Ziziphus obtusifolia". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 19 January 2018.