{{Short description|Species of tree}} {{speciesbox |image = Ziziphus obtusifolia var canescens 3.jpg |image_caption =''Ziziphus obtusifolia'' var. ''canescens'' |genus = Ziziphus |species = obtusifolia |authority = (Hook. ex Torr. & A.Gray) A. Gray }} This species has recently been reclassified to Condaliopsis obtusifolia (Hook. ex Torr. & A.Gray) Suess.
This reflects the fact that this species and other New World species formerly placed in Ziziphus have distinctive characters that differentiate them from the Old World species. <ref>http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=135333</ref>
'''''Ziziphus obtusifolia''''' is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family known by several common names, including '''lotebush''', '''graythorn''', '''gumdrop tree''', and '''Texas buckthorn'''.<ref name=fs>[http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/zizobt/all.html US Forest Service Fire Ecology]</ref>
==Distribution== The plant is native to the South Central and Southwestern United States, the California deserts, and central through northern Mexico.<ref>{{GRIN | access-date = 19 January 2018}}</ref>
It grows in shrubby and scrubby desert habitats, grasslands and prairie, woodlands, and other habitat types. It can be found among desert plants such as honey mesquite, smooth mesquite, ocotillo and creosote.<ref name=fs/>
==Description== ''Ziziphus obtusifolia'' is a shrub with many branches forming a thorny tangle which may exceed {{convert|3|m|ft}} tall and approach {{convert|4|m|ft}} at times.
The leaves are deciduous and are absent for much of the year, leaving the shrub a naked thicket of gray twigs coated in waxy whitish hairs. The ends of the twigs taper into sharp-tipped thorns. The thick, glandular gray or green leaves have oval blades 1 or 2 centimeters long.
The inflorescence is a cluster of several dull yellow-green flowers. The fruit is a mealy, juicy drupe containing one seed.
The fruit provides food for many species of birds and mammals.<ref name=fs/> Birds use the shrub as a nesting site and the southern plains woodrat uses the twigs to build its houses.<ref name=fs/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Ziziphus+obtusifolia CalFlora Database: ''Ziziphus obtusifolia'' (Lotebush)] *[http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ZIOB NPIN−Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Information Network: ''Ziziphus obtusifolia'' (Lotebush, Lote-bush condalia)] *[http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Ziziphus+obtusifolia+var.+canescens CalFlora Database: ''Ziziphus obtusifolia'' var. ''canescens'' (Grey leaved Abrojo, graythorn, lotebush)] *[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=67917 Jepson Manual (JM2) eFlora: ''Ziziphus obtusifolia'' var. ''canescens''] *[http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/img_query?where-taxon=Ziziphus+obtusifolia+var.+canescens&where-anno=1 UC Photos gallery — ''Ziziphus obtusifolia'' var. ''canescens'' ] {{Commons category|Ziziphus obtusifolia|position=left}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q8072938}}
obtusifolia Category:Flora of the California desert regions Category:Flora of the Chihuahuan Desert Category:Flora of Central Mexico Category:Flora of Northeastern Mexico Category:Flora of Northwestern Mexico Category:Flora of Oklahoma Category:Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Category:North American desert flora Category:Trees of Northern America Category:Natural history of the Colorado Desert Category:Natural history of the Mojave Desert Category:Flora without expected TNC conservation status
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