Scientific Name: Ziziphus obtusifolia
Common Name: Graythorn
Family: Rhamnaceae, Buckthorn Family
Duration: Perennial
Size: Up to 8 feet or so but usually smaller.
Growth Form: Shrub, tree; rigid, twigs gray; grayish-green thorn tipped branches; tomentose; spines stout, numerous.
Leaves: Green, pale green; tiny, alternate, deciduous, shape variable, elliptic, ovate or oblong, leaves simple; leaf margins entire or dentate; mid-vein prominent.
Flower Color: Yellow, greenish-yellow; inconspicuous; flowers in clusters of 10 to 30; flowers glabrous to tomentose; fruit globose, blue to purple to black with white waxy bloom.
Flowering Season: May to September
Comments: Birds readily feed on the fruits and insects feed on the nectar. The leaf size is dependent upon climate, habitat and season.
