''Sarcomphalus mistol'' or mistol is a species of spiniferous shrub or tree of the family

Rhamnaceae The Rhamnaceae are a large Family (biology), family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. Rhamnaceae is included in the order Rosales. The family contains about 55 genera and 950 specie ...

. It is native to Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, and very abundant in parts of the

Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or simply Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland tropical dry broadleaf forest natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion o ...

of northern Argentina and Paraguay. The word "mistol" derives from colonial era Spanish, from the word "mixture" (mezcla) since it was believed that mistol was a hybrid between species of genus '' Schinopsis'' because of the likely color of its wood to Spaniard colonists' perception.

Morphology

The ''mistol'' varies greatly in height, it may reach 10 to 15 meters though most individuals have no more than 4 to 9 meters high. Trunk diameter is also variable, it ranges 20 to 60 centimeters. The branches are pubescent, abundant, with spines near the leaves, and arranged in zig-zag. Its foliage is

semi-deciduous Semi-deciduous or semi-evergreen is a botanical term which refers to plants that lose their foliage for a very short period, when old leaves fall off and new foliage growth is starting. This phenomenon occurs in tropical and sub-tropical wood ...

. Mistol leaves are oval shaped, alternate, entire, with three prominent basal veins, 2–7 cm long and slightly petiolated. It flowers late in spring, from October to December and fructifies from November to march. The fruit is an edible drupe, reddish-hazel coloured, roughly spherical, 1–5 cm long, sweet and sugary, with a distinct bitterness when ripe. Mistol wood is quite tough, heavy and enduring (hence its early confusion with that of ''Schinopsis'' genus). It is often used in hand held tools, carriage wheels and less frequently to produce slow burning coal.

Usage

Known for centuries before Spanish colonization of Gran Chaco, the mistol was a regular (or even key) dietary item for several local tribes of South American Indians ( comechingons,

diaguita The Diaguita people are a group of South American Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous people native to the Chilean Norte Chico, Chile, Norte Chico and the Argentine Northwest. Western or Chilean Diaguitas lived mainly in the Transvers ...

quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Rio de la Plata, in the , on the southeast end of the Greater Buenos Aires, being some away from the urban centre area of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and is the seat of the eponymous '' ...

, etc.). It can be eaten natural when ripe or processed. A known preparation with mistol fruit is '' arrope'', an overcooked result of its juice, pulp and cane sugar. Mistol coffee is available in

n diet shops, it is becoming slowly popular because it contains almost no

caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine chemical classification, class and is the most commonly consumed Psychoactive drug, psychoactive substance globally. It is mainly used for its eugeroic (wakefulness pr ...

or other xanthine alkaloids.

External images

Herbarium natural sample from The Field Museum website (Chicago)Modelled distribution of Ziziphus mistol

References

* Mabberley, D.J., ''The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the higher plants'', Cambridge University Press, New York, 1990 * Vásquez, Ch. R. & S.G. Coimbra, ''Frutas silvestres comestibles de Santa Cruz'', Editorial FAN, 2002, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. Rhamnaceae Flora of Northeast Argentina Flora of Northwest Argentina Flora of Bolivia Flora of Paraguay Flora of Peru Trees of Argentina Drought-tolerant trees Argentine cuisine Data deficient plants Plants described in 1874 Taxa named by August Grisebach {{fruit-stub