Accession Count: 3
Common Name:
Anderson's wolfberry
Family Name:
Solanaceae
Botanical Name:
Lycium andersonii
Sub Species:
Variety:
Forma:
Cultivar:
Characteristics:
Wolfberry is a woody shrub with rounded, many-branching form native to the Sonoran desert that can grow 0.3m – 3m (1-9 feet) tall (1). Branches have thin bark and slender 5-20mm (0.2- 1.0”) long spines with young twigs being silvery white and older twigs showing tan-dark brown coloration (1).Roots are tough, fibrous, and extend 8-10m away from the base of the plant (1). Leaves are drought deciduous, thick, fleshy and flat and approximately 3-17mm (0.1-0.7”) long (1). Each leaf is linear, linear-spatulate, spatulate or obobate in shape, and sessile or borne on a short petiole that is 1-3mm long (2). Leaf apex is rounded to acute and leaf base is attenuate (2). Flowers are white to pale purple and are borne singly or in pairs on a 1-10mm long pedicel (2). The calyx is cup shaped, 4-5 lobed and 1.5-3.0mm (0.05-0.10”) long while the corolla is 4-16mm (0.15-0.8”) long, tubular or narrowly funnelform in shape with stamens barely or almost exserted 2-3mm higher than the petals. Fruits are small (3-9mm long, reddish-orange, oval-elliptical in shape, with many seeds (2).
Compound:
lyc and
Geographic Origin:
Southwest US
Ecozone Origin:
Nearctic
Biome Origin:
Desert
Natural History:
Anderson wolfberry is native to the Sonoran desert, and grows in hot, dry sites throughout the southwestern US, which receive 128-162mm (5.0-6.5”)annual precipitation, from 250-1700m (800=5600’)elevation(1,2).
Cultivation Notes:
Anderson wolfberry begins growing in Jan-Mar but varies with seasonal climate variation (1,2). Flowering starts in the western US in April, in California from November to April, and in the southwestern US flowering can occur from January through May (1). The plant goes dormant in late May, until the following year’s winter rains (1). New leaves will form on last year’s stems and new growth even in dry years, but new shoots will only form if there is adequate winter rain (1). Perfect flowers are bird pollinated and fruits are eaten by birds and small mammals in late summer, thereby facilitating dispersal of the fruit’s many seeds (1). Seeds germinate the following summer rains and into early spring (1). The plant can also reproduce vegetatively by root sprouts (both due to root injury/breakage, and exposure to air) (1). Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil with pH ranging from mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.
Ethnobotany:
No known toxicity of vegetative parts, and ripe fruits can be eaten raw, used whole as a flavoring in soups or dried and ground into a powder for mush/cereal flour (3). The fruit is highly nutritious as it contains high levels of vitamin A, C, and E, flavonoids, and other bio-active compounds (3). Unlike most fruit, the wolfberry is a fairly good source of essential fatty acids (3). The extensive root system makes this plant useful in ecological restoration for bank stabilization (3).
Height:
6 - 10 feet
Width:
6 - 10 feet
Growth Rate:
Grow Season:
Spring
Flower Season:
Summer
Color:
Purple
Function:
Screen
Spread:
Non-spreading
Allergen:
Non-allergenic
Invasive:
Benign
Toxicity:
Hardy:
Hardy
Water Use:
Low water Use
