Jangli boroi; zhou zao; Ziziphus rugosa Lam.

The plants of Ziziphus species are multipurpose plants with great potential for ethnomedicinal use all over the world. Ziziphus rugosa Lamk is a large straggling armed shrub and belongs to the family Rhamnaceae. It is grown widely in the dry deciduous forest of Central Western Ghats. The fruits are commonly known as Mullanu, Kottimullu and Badara and are the known famine, medicinal and edible fruits. Further, the bark of root and stem, leaves and flowers are used in the preparation of herbal formulations. 

Ziziphus rugosa Lam. also known as Ziziphus glabra Roxb,  Ziziphus latifolia Roxb and  Ziziphus latifolia Blanco.  This species is an important host for the parasitic scale insect, Laccifer lacca.  It is commonly found in Bangladesh, China and India. Below is a list of common names of Zizipus rugosa:

 

in Bangladesh: anai, banboroi, jangli boroi
in China: zhou zao
in India: avicuppam, avucucikacceti, avucucikam, bata-bakuri-araung, bela hudukee gida, belahadu kina, belahadukina, ber, bili suri mullu, bilichoori mullu, bilichurimullu, bilimullu hannu, bilisoori mullu, bilisurimullu, bommaralu, bommarlu, chotte, churna, churni, chusai, curai, daknimevaro, dumakpul, enuga pariki, eraminiya, goti, gottigida, kantaikuli, katakoli, kattilandai, kattilantai, kattu elandi, kattu mullu, khankhri-wakbuk, khat-bor, khongkhanimakbul, kothamullu, kottai, kottemullu, maha, mahigotte, mahikotte, megolte, megotti, orppilantai, orppilantaimaram, pindiparimi, pinduparighamu, puli, sanna guriki, sanokuli, soorai, sudu thorotti, suran, tatali, terma, thengkhi-makbil, thodali, thodari, thorana, thudari, thuran, tinkoli, toddali, toran, totari, totiri, tutaivi, tutali, tuttavi

Floral Description:

According to flora of Pakistan:

A small tree or stragling shrub, armed with stipular spines, solitary or paired with a broad base, young branches fulvous-tomentose. Leaves 5-12.5x4-6 cm, broadly elliptic, shortly acuminate, denticulate, base oblique, rugose, petiole 0.8-1.5 cm long densely tomentose. Inflorescence of pedunculate cymes, densely pubescent, peduncle c.5 mm long. pedicel, c. 4 mm long. Calyx puberulous inside 1.5-2 mm long, with ovate acute lobes. Petals absent. Disc 5-lobed, styles 2, connate below the middle. Fruit c. 5-8 mm in diameter, globose or pyriform, white when ripe.

According to Flora of China: 

Shrubs or small trees, evergreen, to 9 m tall, spinose. Young branches densely ferruginous or yellow-brown tomentose; old branches red-brown, scabrous, striate, with conspicuous lenticels. Stipular spines 1(or 2), recurved, purple-red, 3-6 mm; petiole short, 5-9 mm, stout, densely yellow-brown tomentose; leaf blade broadly ovate or broadly elliptic, 8-11 × 4.5-9.5 cm, papery or subleathery, abaxially densely ferruginous or yellow-brown tomentose, adaxially at first villous, gradually glabrescent or later sparsely pubescent in vein axils, 3-5-veined from base, midvein with 2-5 pairs of secondary veins, veins prominent abaxially, impressed adaxially, base subcordate or rounded, oblique, margin serrulate, apex rounded. Inflorescences to 20 cm. Flowers green, densely pubescent, few to 10 in terminal or axillary large cymose panicles or cymose racemes; peduncles 5-12 mm. Pedicel ca. 2 mm, densely ferruginous tomentose. Sepals triangular, subequal to calyx tube, abaxially ferruginous tomentose, adaxially slightly keeled, apex acute. Petals absent. Disk orbicular, rather thick, 5-lobed, outer rim inconspicuous. Ovary globose, densely tomentose, to ca. 1/3 immersed in disk; styles deeply 2-cleft or 2-cleft to half. Drupe orange, turning black at maturity, obovoid-globose or subglobose, 9-12 mm, 8-10 mm in diam., hairy, gradually glabrescent, with persistent tube at base; fruiting pedicel 7-10 mm, tomentose; endocarp fragile-crustaceous; stone 1-loculed, 1-seeded. Seeds red-brown, globose, 6-7 × 6-7 mm.

 

Medicinal Properties and Uses:

Leaves crushed with turmeric, egg albumen and calcium, paste applied and tied with bandage for bone
fracture. Roots paste applied and tied with bandage for bone fracture. Flowers, with petioles of betel leaf, crushed in lime water and given in menorrhagia. Bark used as astringent and against diarrhea, flatulence, also for swelling in cheek and ulcer in mouth in powder form mixed with ghee. Powdered bark applied to heal toothache, spongy gum and ulcers in mouth.  Bark along with barks of Lannea coromandelica and Radermachera xylocarpa crushed into a paste and applied and bandaged over the fractured bone. Decoction of the bark of the plant along with the bark of Careya arborea inhaled through mouth against toothache and tooth decay.