Unabi (jujube, Chinese dates) is one of the best medicinal plants, as it has a huge amount of nutrients.
It is also called by the people deciduous thorny shrubs, French chest berries, jujuba. There are about 400 species of these plants that are cultivated in the South of Asia, in Central Asia, China, Transcaucasia, the Mediterranean. Unabi has been using medicine for a long time, using almost all its parts - leaves, fruits and root. But mainly for the treatment are taken the fruits of Chinese dates, which can be consumed fresh or dry. Dried unabi outwardly resembles our usual date.
Description
Jujube is a prickly deciduous deciduous bush or small tree. It has a pyramidal or spreading crown. It has sufficiently powerful roots that can penetrate to a depth of three meters.
The bark of the main trunks of the Chinese date is dark gray, very thick. Branches are distinguished by red-brown bark and spines. The leaves are alternate, placed on small petioles, are elongated-ovate, leathery, whole-edge, blunt.
The flowers of the plant are bisexual, small, five-membered, axillary, can be collected in small bunches - up to 5 pieces. In this case, the flower lives only about a day.
In jujube, the fruits ripen at different times, are rounded, oblong, ovoid drupes with sweet flesh. They reach a length of 6 cm with a weight of about 20 g.
The plant first appeared in China, today it is cultivated in Central Asia, in the Caucasus. It grows in temperate climates. In order for the crop to succeed, it is necessary to plant a variety adapted to the specific climate.
Chinese dates are very fond of heat, therefore, they are not afraid of drought. In addition, unabi is a frost-resistant plant. Regardless of the fact that it tolerates heat well, it is still necessary to constantly water it - in this case it will bear fruit much better.
Chinese Date: Growing and Reproduction
Unabi can grow on almost any soil other than boggy and saline, although it gives a small crop on the poor. Unacceptably close occurrence of groundwater. The ideal place for jujube is the southern slopes.
The plant can be propagated by root shoots, seeds, grafting and cuttings.
Mostly rootstock is grown from the seeds of Chinese dates, since seedlings begin to bear fruit later and varietal characters do not always remain. The seeds must be harvested from high-quality fresh fruits, which must be immediately cleaned of the existing pulp. Raw materials are stratified a couple of months before sowing. It is sown in the spring, after the earth warms up well. The distance between the rows should be about 80 cm, in the row between the seeds - about 5 cm. It is advisable to cover the sowing with a film, thus creating a tunnel. Seedlings after 20 days dive or thin out so that there is 25 cm left between them. In the spring they are watered only once, twice a month - in the summer.
In general, large-fruited varieties are planted on a small-fruited stock. In the summer they are vaccinated with an “eye”, in September or May for a bark by a graft.
Propagation by roots makes it possible to get a crop in the second year after planting. Plants can be separated when the Chinese date (unabi) reaches 2 years of age.
Seedlings propagated by cuttings are rooted in greenhouses under intermittent artificial fog. They are planted on a permanent place in the middle of March in the south, at the end of March - in the northern regions.
Crown formation
It is mainly formed in a couple of years in the form of a vase or bowl of 4 skeletal branches, which are placed around the trunk. In this case, the central conductor is cut off, "extra rings" are removed. The upper branch is cut so that there is 20 cm left, all the rest - so that their peaks with it are at a common level.
Next, periodic sanitary pruning is carried out, in addition, branches that thicken the crown are removed.
Watering
Chinese dates in the first year should be watered as often as possible for their better engraftment (up to 7 times in one season).
You do not need to do this in the very first months of flowering - the fruits are tied in time in dry weather, but if moisture is not enough during the summer, the crop will be scarce. Therefore, you need to water the plant from mid-June (only not often, but only in the long absence of rain).
Top dressing
Every year (starting from the fourth after planting) in spring, unabi (Chinese dates) must be fed with a mixture of various mineral fertilizers, as well as manure.
Collection and harvesting of fruits
For medicinal purposes, fruits, leaves, very rarely the bark and root of the plant are used. Fruits must be harvested after their full ripening, leaves at the same time. They need to be dried in the shade, preferably in the air under a canopy, but it can also be in a ventilated room, while they must be laid out in 1 layer. You can store up to a year.
The root must be harvested in November, the bark in early spring. It is advisable to use it with three-year branches. Can be stored up to 2 years.
Unabi fruits can be consumed fresh, dried and dried. It is also good to cook marinade, jam, juice, compote. You can store fresh up to five days.
To dry the Chinese date, or rather its fruits, is better in the dryer. It can be stored in this form for up to two years.
Beneficial features
Fruits contain organic acids, sugar, proteins, fatty oil, catechin, tannin, nicotinic and folic acids, pectin, tocopherol. Using them, you can remove copper, lead, toxins, and mercury from the body. Iron, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamins C, P are also found in unabi.
The Chinese date makes it possible to recover much faster after the disease, in addition, it is often prescribed for diseases of the kidneys, urinary system, stomach, stomatitis, accompanied by the appearance of ulcers.
Unabi should also be taken during pregnancy, which will help to cope with toxicosis. Young nursing mothers should also include Chinese dates in their diet, as it significantly increases lactation.
With the help of the fruits of the plant, you can normalize blood pressure, cope with headaches and heartaches.
Chinese Date (jujube): application
A decoction based on the branches, leaves and bark of a plant is an excellent antibacterial and bacteriostatic agent. Consequently, purulent wounds, abscesses, tuberculous lymphadenitis, gastritis, ocular or skin tuberculosis can be cured with the help, in addition, it is an excellent diuretic.
A decoction from the roots of the plant enhances hair growth in children, adults are recommended to use it for baldness.
A decoction is prepared from dried fruits, which will help relieve inflammation of the bronchi, it is often used for shortness of breath, severe dizziness, whooping cough and bronchitis.
Fruits are rich in vitamins C and P, therefore, they have a positive effect on the walls of blood vessels, giving them elasticity and strength. This tool is also effective for hypertensive crisis, it allows you to lower blood pressure, increase efficiency, improve sleep, improve mood, normalize heartbeat.
Traditional medicine appreciates the decoction of the fruit of the plant for its anti-inflammatory and emollient properties, in addition, it can be used for ulcers, intestinal infections, anemia, and inflammation in the upper respiratory tract.
Fresh Chinese dates are especially good for eating with dysentery, constipation, diarrhea. It is recommended to drink the infusion with suppurating wounds, gastritis, abscesses. Outwardly, it is used to rinse the oral cavity, as well as washing, lotions to cure ulcers and wounds that slowly heal.
Fresh leaves are suitable for ointments.
Cooked jujube
The berries of the plant can be consumed fresh. Also, Chinese dates can be dried, canned and dried. Delicious berries are included in the recipes of various dishes.
Contraindications
Chinese dates (jujube) contains a substance that has the effect of anesthesia. A person, starting to chew it, temporarily ceases to feel a bitter and sweet taste. Do not consume a lot of fruits for people who suffer from low blood pressure, as well as during pregnancy. It is worth remembering that unabi is digested for a very long time, it is best to use it without the skin, and in large quantities it can provoke inflammation in the intestines and stomach. In addition, jujube increases the amount of sugar in the blood. If the dosage is not followed, a severe headache may appear.