Current Trends in Natural Sciences Vol. 10, Issue 19, pp. 328-332, 2021 https://doi.org/10.47068/ctns.2021.v10i19.042 Current Trends in Natural Sciences (on-line) Current Trends in Natural Sciences (CD-Rom) ISSN: 2284-953X ISSN: 2284-9521 ISSN-L: 2284-9521 ISSN-L: 2284-9521 http://www.natsci.upit.ro *Corresponding author, E-mail address: rozsa.sandor@usamvcluj.ro 328 MORPHOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF ZIZYPHUS JUJUBA MILL. FRUITS FROM TIMIȘOARA BOTANICAL PARK Daniela-Sabina Poșta 1 , Sándor Rózsa 2* , Tincuța-Marta Gocan 2 1 Banat University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine „King Michael I of Roma nia" from Timisoara, Faculty of Horticulture and Forestry, 119 Aradului Street, 300645 Timisoara, Romania 2 University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Horticulture, 400372, 3-5 Mănăştur Street, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Abstract Zizyphus jujuba Mill. belongs to the Rhamnales order, Rhamnaceae family, Rhamnus genus. The genus includes about 40 species native to tropical and subtropical regions of both hemispheres, as well as the Mediterranean region. Species Zizyphus jujuba Mill. it is native to SW Asia, has ornamental features and is found spontaneously on the Danube coast. The first cultivated varieties were introduced at the Faculty of Horticulture in Bucharest in Shanxi Province, China in a joint research project in 1997. In our study, the fruits were harvested from two genotypes in the Botanical Park of Timisoara. For the harvested fruits were analyzed: fruit weight (g), seed weight (g), fruit length (mm), fruit width (mm) and chemical analyses were performed: soluble dry matter (%), C vitamin (mg 100 g -1 ), total potassium content (mg 100 g -1 ) and protein (%). In the analyzed fruits, the soluble dry matter varied between 28.3-29.81%, C vitamin between 247.97-288.17 mg 100g -1 , proteins between 4.84-5.63% and potassium between 79.53 -79.63 mg 100 g -1 . Keywords: Chinese date palm, chemical analysis, morphological characters, Zizyphus jujuba Mill. 1. INTRODUCTION Zizyphus jujuba Mill. - Chinese date, belongs to the order Rhamnales, family Rhamnaceae, genus Rhamnus (Săvulescu et al., 1958). The genus includes about 40 species native to the tropical and subtropical regions of both hemispheres, as well as the Mediterranean region. The species Zizyphus jujuba Mill., reaches a height of 8 m, most often considered a shrub than a tree, is native to SW Asia, has ornamental features and is found spontaneously on the Danube coast, between Hîrșova and Dealul Celea Mare as well between Măcin and Cerna (Dumitriu-Tătăranu et al., 1960). The Roman emperor Octavian Augustus brought the Chinese date from Syria to Italy and then spread to other Mediterranean countries including Dobrogea, in the region between the Danube and the Black Sea (Ciocârlan, 2000). The locals called the fruits of this species "Dobrogea olive". In the Dobrogea area, two genotypes of jujube were identified, one in Jurilovca and another in Ostrov. Within the ‘Jurilovca’ population, two jujube biotypes were identified: ‘Jurilovca 1’ and ‘Jurilovca 2’. Romanian jujube genotypes produce small fruits, but have adapted to local climate and soil conditions over the centuries. ‘Jurilovca’ biotypes could be interesting for future use as rootstocks (Stanica, 2009).