Scientific Family
Solanaceae
Other common names
tomatillo
pale desert-thorn
boxthorn
pale wolfberry
Plant type
Shrubs
Riparian
Yes
Plant Description
Origin
Native
Similar species
Lycium oligospermum, Lycium andersonii, Lycium fremontii, Lycium pallidum
Dense, tall narrow shrub with thorny branches, profuse greenish-white to purplish flowers in spring followed by red round fruits in summer and fall. Root system extensive; may form dense thickets.
Densely branched spiny shrub, branches spreading to erect. Leaves oval to oblong. Herbage and sepals smooth to sparsely hairy. Flowers bell-shaped, greenish-white to purplish and pendulous. Fruit is plump, red and fleshy.
Height
Up to 6 feet
Width
6 feet
Habitat
Habitat description
Found on sandy or rocky soil in a variety of plant communities: desert grassland, riparian areas, chaparral, pinyon-juniper woodlands.
Plant Community
Riparian
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Low elevation
3300
High elevation
7000
Leaves
Leaf color
Blue-green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf shape
Round or oval
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaf hairs
Top and bottom of leaves
Spines
Yes
Leaf Drop
Deciduous
Leaves leathery and elliptical or oval to 3 inches long by 1/2 inch wide in alternate clusters on short stems; tips pointed or sometimes rounded, base tapering, surfaces smooth to sparsely hairy.
Flowers
Flower color
Greenish-white to purplish
Flower shape
Bell-shaped
Tubular
Yes
First bloom month
April
Last bloom month
June
Flowers are 3/4 inch long by 5/8 inch wide, pendulous on slender short stalks, solitary or in groups of 2 to 3 at the leaf axils. Sepals are bell-shaped with 5 lobes, stamens protrude, filaments fused to the flower tube almost halfway up.
Flower clusters
None
Fruit
Fruit color
Orange to red
Fruit type
Berry-like
Tomato-shaped, orange to red and 1/4 inch in diameter. Berry may sometimes also be blue-tinged due to a waxy coating.