Pests > Pest Management > Quarantine > Interceptions > Plants & Fruit > Zizyphus sp., fruit, Australia



Pests > Pest Management > Quarantine > Interceptions > Plants & Fruit > Zizyphus sp., fruit, Australia

Pests Pest Management Quarantine Interceptions Plants & Fruit Zizyphus sp., fruit, Australia

Ziziphus sp.

January 2002. An interception at Brisbane airport, a fruit from Southeast Asia. The fruit is one of the Jujube. In India it is called “Ber”. The scientific name is Zizyphus jujuba Lam. (=Z mauritiana Lam.). It is extensively cultivated as a fruit tree in Southeast Asia. The skin appears very similar to an apple, the fruit is a bit more starchy-like and it is approximately 5-6 cm long.

Zizyphus fruit comes in different shapes, forms and slight color variations. Another form is elongate and rugby ball-like. Some have only a stone with hardly any flesh and they are tiny (approx 1 cm diameter) and turn yellow, or reddish, when fully ripe. The immature fruits are light green. Brownish stripes are sometimes present due to the feeding of mites. Of quarantine interest, this fruit is an excellent host for several species of fruit flies and their associated parasitoids.

Syzygium malaccense and Spondias momblin (hog plum) were also suggested.