Jujube from Yuli County

Jujube from Yuli County

　　Jujube

　　　　The jujube (also known as osmanthus-scented willow, fragrant willow, or silver willow) is mainly distributed in the northwestern provinces of China and the western part of Inner Mongolia. A small amount can also be found in the northern part of North China and the western part of Northeast China, roughly in areas north of 34 degrees north latitude. Natural jujube forests are concentrated along the Tarim River and Manas River in Xinjiang, the Shule River in Gansu, and both banks of the Ejin River in Inner Mongolia. Some large river deltas in Inner Mongolia (such as Lihua Zhongtan and Dazhongtan) also have jujube trees. The jujube forests along inland rivers often exist as sparse woodlands, covering large areas — just the West River forest area of the Ejin River alone has over 69,000 mu of jujube forest. Artificial jujube forests are widely distributed across provinces (and regions) including Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia.