Lycium is agenus of flowering plants in thenightshadefamily,Solanaceae.[3] The genus has adisjunct distribution around the globe, with species occurring on most continents intemperate andsubtropical regions. South America has the most species, followed by North America and southern Africa. There are several scattered across Europe and Asia, and one is native to Australia.[4] Common English names for plants of this genus includebox-thorn,[5]wolfberry, anddesert-thorn.[6]Plants of the World Online currently accepts 101 species.[2] Other estimates are of 70[4] to 80[7][8] species.
The generic nameLycium is derived from the Greek word λυκιον (lykion), which was applied byPliny the Elder (23-79) andPedanius Dioscorides (ca. 40–90) to a plant known as dyer's buckthorn. It was probably aRhamnus species and was named forLycia (Λυκία), the ancient southernAnatolian region in which it grew.[9][10] The berry is calledlycii fructus ("lycium fruit") in oldLatinpharmacological texts.
Lycium areshrubs, oftenthorny, growing 1 to 4 meters tall. The leaves are small, narrow, and fleshy, and are alternately arranged, sometimes infascicles. Flowers are solitary or borne in clusters. The funnel-shaped or bell-shaped corolla is white, green, or purple in color. The fruit is a two-chambered, usually fleshy and juicyberry which can be red, orange, yellow, or black. It may have few seeds or many.[5][7] MostLycium have fleshy, red berries with over 10 seeds, but a few American taxa have hard fruits with two seeds.[8]
While mostLycium aremonoecious, producing bisexual flowers with functional male and female parts, some species aregynodioecious, with some individuals bearing bisexual flowers and some producing functionally female flowers.[11]
Lycium, particularlyL. barbarum, have long been used intraditional Chinese medicine.[13][14] The leaves and roots of other species ofLycium, such asL. europaeum, when mixed with water, have been used in folk medicine.[15] The fruit ofL. barbatum andL. chinense, known asgoji berry, is commonly consumed as a dried fruit.[13] The Chinese tonicgou qi zi ("wolfberry fruit") is made of the fruit of any of severalLycium species, and is used as adietary supplement.[13]
Lycium species mostly occur inarid and semi-arid climates, and a few are known from coastal zones in somewhat saline habitat types.[4]
Invasive species includeL. ferocissimum, which was introduced to Australia andNew Zealand and has become a dense, thorny pest plant there. It injures livestock, harbors pest mammals and insects, and displaces native species.[16]
^abHitchcock, C. L. (1932). A monographic study of the genusLycium of the Western Hemisphere.Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 19(2/3), 179-348 and 350-66. doi:10.2307/2394155 (First page image).
^"Goji Berries"(PDF). UK Food Standards Agency, Novel Foods, Additives and Supplements Division. June 2007. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 November 2012. Retrieved13 April 2013.
^Nissim Krispil,Medicinal Plants in Israel and Throughout the World - the Complete Guide, Or Yehuda (Israel) 2000, pp.38–39 (Hebrew)
