Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden, South Africa

Common name: Indian plum, jujube

Family: Rhamnaceae (Buckthorn)

Distribution: South Asia

IUCN Red list: Not evaluated

Comments: In Japan, the natsume has given its name to a style of tea caddy used in the Japanese tea ceremony, due to the similar shape. Its hard, oily wood was, along with pear, used for woodcuts to print the world's first books, starting in the 8th century and continuing through the 19th in China and neighboring countries. As many as 2000 copies could be produced from one jujube woodcut.