Morphological Investigation of Genus &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Ziziphus&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt; Mill. (Rhamnaceae) in Saudi Arabia

Rabab Abdullah Almalki,Dhafer Ahmed Alzahrani

doi:10.4236/ajps.2018.913192

Morphological Investigation of Genus &lt;i&gt;Ziziphus&lt;/i&gt; Mill. (Rhamnaceae) in Saudi Arabia

Rabab Abdullah Almalki, Dhafer Ahmed Alzahrani

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4236/ajps.2018.913192

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Abstract

The genus Ziziphus Mill. is a member of the Family Rhamnaceae and comprises of ca. 170 species distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. The species in the genus are of economic and medicinal importance. This study was conducted to identify the members of the genus in Saudi Arabia as well as morphological features that show delimitation in the genus. Field survey was conducted across the study area where 74 individuals were collected and used in the study; additionally, herbarium specimens were also employed. Both floral and vegetative parts which include habit, leaf, fruit and flowers were examined. The result showed that there is variation in morphological features among the species within the genus and the genus is represented by three species namely Ziziphus nummularia, Z. mucronata, and Z. spina-christi and two varieties Z. spina-christi var. spina-christi, Z. spina-christi var. microphylla.

Highlights

The genus Ziziphus belongs to the family Rhamnaceae and comprised of ca. 170 species distributed in tropics and subtropics regions of the world
Colour of branches: Branch colour shows an important character in Saudi Arabian Ziziphus
It is different from white colour in Z. spina-christi var. microphylla (Figure 4(a)), Paige to pale grey in Z. spina-christi var. spina-christi (Figure 4(b)) and Z. nummularia or reddish brown in Z. mucronata (Figure 4(c))

Summary

Introduction

The genus Ziziphus belongs to the family Rhamnaceae and comprised of ca. 170 species distributed in tropics and subtropics regions of the world. The genus Ziziphus belongs to the family Rhamnaceae and comprised of ca. 170 species distributed in tropics and subtropics regions of the world. Members of the genus are widely distributed that other genera in the Rhamnaceae. The species in the genus are of economic and medicinal importance. The Rhamnaceae family has been shown to be represented in Saudi Arabia by four genera which are: Ziziphus, Rhamnus, Berchemia and Sageretia [5] [6] [7] [8]

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Discussion

Conclusion