Abstract
Objective: The objective of this study was to study the anatomical features of the fruit Ziziphus rugosa. 
 Methods: Surface view, longitudinal, transverse section (T.S), and powder microscopy of the fruits were studied.
 Results: The fruit is a drupe and shows vertical, irregular brown markings on the surface. The surface of the seed has irregular reticulate thick marking of brown. The longitudinal sections (L.S) of the fruit show thin green epicarp, wide soft mesocarp, and dark brown thick endocarp. In longitudinal view, the seed shows a thick conical part, thick wide shell which is hard. In the cotyledon is more or less cordate,white and soft with shallow notch at the upper end. In T.S, the fruit appears circular with soft pericarp, thick dark brown seed coat of sclereids, and vertically elongated white cotyledon. The epicarp layer is broken at certain places. In the mesocarp, some of the cells have dense tannin content and others have mucilage substance. The mucilaginous canals are wide, unbranched, and wavy. Some of the mesocarp cells contain dense accumulation of protein bodies. The sclerotesta contains palisade or macrosclereids. The seed consists of two elliptical, flat cotyledons which show dense accumulation of starch grains and small less prominent vascular strand. The powder microscopy of the fruit contains abundant dark mucilaginous substance. Fragments of epidermal cells of the pericarp and mesocarp cells are frequently seen. The seed coat epidermal cells are polyhedral with lignified cell walls. The circular brachy sclereids were often seen in the mesophyll tissue of the fruit. The ground parenchyma with various shapes and size is also noticed.
 Conclusion: This study revealed the presence of mucilaginous substance, tannin, sclereids, starch grains, and protein bodies. Therefore, this material will be efficient for eliminating some nutritional deficiency diseases.
Highlights
The plant Ziziphus rugosa belongs to the family Rhamnaceae
In transverse section (T.S), the fruit appears circular with soft pericarp, circular thick dark brown seed coat of sclereids, and vertically elongated white cotyledon with wide elliptical and thick conical radicle (Fig. 4a and b)
The vascular bundles have large masses of vessels of wide thick walled cells and thick units of phloem elements followed by seed coat (Fig. 6b and c)
Summary
The plant Ziziphus rugosa belongs to the family Rhamnaceae. It occurs in all forest districts. Petals 0; styles 2;erect small tree or climbing shrub; flowers in pedunculate cymes making panicles on terminal branchlets; leaves large, elliptic, cordate; thorns usually solitary, recurved; drupe 1-rarely 2-celled, stone crustaceous not rugose; disc smooth [1] It is a famine edible fruit and medicinal plant of the Western Ghats. The Kodava community in the Kodagu region of the Western Ghats eats the endocarp of Z. rugosa as raw and ripened for nutritional source traditionally [4] This plant is host for Laccifer lacca, a parasitic scale insect [5]. The folk medicinal healers in the districts of Sylhet and Moulvibazar use Z. rugosa fruit to treat tumors or cancers They use it for sedative, hepatoprotective, blood purifier, and cardiotonic. The present study aims to investigate anatomical features of the fruit of Z. rugosa
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