The flesh of the Choerospondias axillaris fruit is sweet and sour and edible, offering both timber and landscaping value

Choerospondias axillaris is a large deciduous tree in the genus Choerospondias of the family Anacardiaceae, commonly called five-eye fruit, snivel fruit or mountain jujube in the mountainous areas of southern China. It mostly grows in open forests on hills and in valleys, and is widely distributed across the Yangtze River basin and the provinces and regions south of it, making it one of the more common native tree species in the south.

In terms of morphology, the Choerospondias axillaris tree is tall, with grayish-brown bark that often peels off in flakes, and odd-pinnate compound leaves with opposite leaflets. The flowering period is mostly in spring, with small flowers that are usually dioecious. The fruit is a drupe, yellow-brown when ripe, with sticky, sweet-and-sour flesh; its most distinctive feature is the five small holes at the tip of the stone, which is also the origin of the name five-eye fruit.

It should be noted that although the name Choerospondias axillaris contains the words sour jujube, it is not the same type of plant as the common northern sour jujube of the genus Ziziphus in the family Rhamnaceae; the two differ clearly in family and genus, tree form and uses. The northern sour jujube is mostly a shrubby small tree, mainly grown for harvesting its seed kernels for medicinal use and for cultivating rootstock for jujube trees, whereas Choerospondias axillaris is a large tree whose uses lean more toward fruit processing and timber utilization. When selecting seedlings or purchasing raw materials, do not confuse the two.

The ripe fruit of Choerospondias axillaris is sweet and sour and pleasant to eat; it can be eaten fresh and is also often processed into foods such as sour jujube cake, jam and beverages, making it an important wild fruit resource in the mountainous areas of southern China. Its wood has straight grain and is light and soft, and can be used to make furniture, farm tools and so on. In addition, Choerospondias axillaris grows relatively fast, has strong adaptability and a spreading crown, and is also often used for afforestation of barren hills, rural landscaping and cultivation as a shade tree, so its economic and ecological value are both quite notable.