Arizona Naturalists >>> Sonoran Desert Naturalist >>> Field Guide >>> Sonoran Desert Flora >>> Solanaceae >>> Lycium andersonii

Wolfberry
Anderson's Desert-Thorn

Lycium andersonii

Lycium andersonii pen & ink illustration © by Michael Plagens

Anderson's Wolfberry, Lycium andersonii, drawn from specimen observed at the KOFA Mountains, Yuma Co., Arizona on 15 March 1993.

Lycium andersonii photo © by Michael Plagens

Anderson's Wolfberry, Lycium andersonii, observed blooming in the Maricopa Mts., Arizona, USA on 06 March 2010.

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FLOWERS: Small tubular flowers are whitish with short purple-tinged lobes. Flowering from February to April brings in many Honey Bees (Apis mellifera). The green calyx below the petals is glabrous, i.e. free of sticky hairs.

FRUIT: Bright orange-red berries with flavor of tomatoes containing a number of small seeds.

LEAVES: More-or-less linear leaves are ½ to 2 cm long and usually thickened. The leaves are smooth to slightly roughened.

SHRUB: A medium to large shrub with rigid branches and not-so-sharp thorns.

RANGE: Common along washes and arroyos that cut through bajadas. May be present with one or more other species of Lycium.

ARMED: The mostly sparse thorns are not particularly sharp on most specimens.

Solanaceae -- Nightshade Family

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Copyright Michael J. Plagens, 1999-2010