Boxthorn (
Lycium) is a
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of the nightshade
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...
(
SolanaceaeThe Solanaceae is a family of flowering plants that contains a number of important agricultural plants as well as many toxic plants. The name of the family comes from the Latin Solanum "the nightshade plant", but the further etymology of that word is unclear...
), containing about 90
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
of
plantPlants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The scientific study of plants, known as botany, has identified about 350,000 extant species of plants, defined as seed plants,...
s native throughout much of the
temperateIn geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally mild, rather than extreme hot or cold. But in continental areas, such as central North America the variations between summer...
and
subtropicalThe subtropics are the geographical zone of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropical zone, which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, at latitudes 23.5°N and 23.5°S...
zones of the world. They are mostly found in dry, semi-saline environments.
Other common names include
desert-thorn,
Christmas berry,
wolfberryWolfberry, commercially called goji berry, is the common name for the fruit of two very closely related species: Lycium barbarum and L. chinense , two species of boxthorn in the family Solanaceae...
,
Matrimony vine, and
Duke of Argyll's tea tree.
Goji is a common English name made popular by several American-made juices and dried berries sometimes branded as "Tibetan" or "Himalayan" goji berries, although these terms do not geographically represent where the berries actually originate.
There are ~20 species in
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
, ~30 species in
South AmericaSouth America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere...
, ~30 species in
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
, ~10 species in
EurasiaEurasia is a large landmass covering about 52,990,000 km
2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface...
, and one species in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
.
Boxthorn (
Lycium) is a
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of the nightshade
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...
(
SolanaceaeThe Solanaceae is a family of flowering plants that contains a number of important agricultural plants as well as many toxic plants. The name of the family comes from the Latin Solanum "the nightshade plant", but the further etymology of that word is unclear...
), containing about 90
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
of
plantPlants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The scientific study of plants, known as botany, has identified about 350,000 extant species of plants, defined as seed plants,...
s native throughout much of the
temperateIn geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally mild, rather than extreme hot or cold. But in continental areas, such as central North America the variations between summer...
and
subtropicalThe subtropics are the geographical zone of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropical zone, which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, at latitudes 23.5°N and 23.5°S...
zones of the world. They are mostly found in dry, semi-saline environments.
Other common names include
desert-thorn,
Christmas berry,
wolfberryWolfberry, commercially called goji berry, is the common name for the fruit of two very closely related species: Lycium barbarum and L. chinense , two species of boxthorn in the family Solanaceae...
,
Matrimony vine, and
Duke of Argyll's tea tree.
Goji is a common English name made popular by several American-made juices and dried berries sometimes branded as "Tibetan" or "Himalayan" goji berries, although these terms do not geographically represent where the berries actually originate.
There are ~20 species in
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
, ~30 species in
South AmericaSouth America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere...
, ~30 species in
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
, ~10 species in
EurasiaEurasia is a large landmass covering about 52,990,000 km
2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface...
, and one species in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
.
GrabowskiaGrabowskia is a genus of plant in family Solanaceae. It contains the following species :* Grabowskia ameghinoi, Speg.* Grabowskia glauca, I.M.Johnst.* Grabowskia megalosperma, Speg....
and
Phrodus join
Lycium in the
tribeIn biology, a tribe — or infrafamily — is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.-See also:* Rank * Rank *International Code of Botanical Nomenclature...
Lycieae, and are the genera most closely related to boxthorn.
Description
They are long-lived,
perennialA perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants...
, thorny
shrubA shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall. A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s, with
deciduousDeciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
alternate, simple
leavesIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
long. The flowers are solitary or in small clusters, diameter, with a corolla of five purple, white or greenish-white petals joined together at their bases. The fruit is fleshy, multiseeded
berryThe botanical definition of a berry is a simple fruit produced from a single ovary, such as a grape or a tomato. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. The flowers of these plants have a superior ovary formed by the fusion of...
diameter that may be red, yellow, orange, purple or black. These fruit resemble nightshade and
bittersweetSolanum dulcamara, also known as bittersweet, bittersweet nightshade, bitter nightshade, blue bindweed, climbing nightshade, fellenwort, felonwood, poisonberry, poisonflower, scarlet berry, snakeberry, trailing bittersweet, trailing nightshade, violet bloom, or woody nightshade, is a species of...
berries. In some species called
wolfberriesWolfberry, commercially called goji berry, is the common name for the fruit of two very closely related species: Lycium barbarum and L. chinense , two species of boxthorn in the family Solanaceae...
or "longevity fruit" (notably
L. barbarum and
L. chinense), the fruit is edible.
Most species of
Lycium are cosexual (all flowers have both male and female function), however, several species exhibit
sexual dimorphismSexual dimorphism is the systematic difference in form between individuals of different sex in the same species. Examples include colour , size, and the presence or absence of parts of the body used in courtship displays or fights, such as ornamental feathers, horns, antlers or tusks.-Examples:In...
. Evidence suggests that sexual dimorphism has evolved more than once in the genus. There are species that have both monoecious and
dioeciousDioecious species are whose members can produce only one type of gamete; each individual organism belonging to a dioecious species is distinctly male or female . The majority of animal species are dioecious...
populations, most notably
L. californicumLycium californicum is a spreading shrub in the nightshade family known by the common names California boxthorn and California desert-thorn. This thorny shrub has thick, fleshy, bulbous green leaves and bell-shaped white flowers with purple streaks or spots. It bears bright red shiny berries 3 to 6...
.
Uses
The plant has been known to European
herbalistsHerbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, and phytotherapy...
since ancient times and was traded from the
Far EastThe Far East is a term used in English mostly equivalent to East Asia and Southeast Asia, sometimes to the inclusion of South Asia for economic and cultural reasons."Far East" came into use in European geopolitical discourse in...
to Europe
by the Romans alreadyRoman trade with India through the overland caravan routes via Anatolia and Persia, though at a relative trickle comparative to later times, antedated the southern trade route via the Red Sea and Monsoons which started around the beginning of the Common Era following the reign of Augustus and his...
, for example via
AriacaAriaca was a region of Western India beyond Barigaza, mentioned in ancient geographical sources.According to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Ariaca was part of the kingdom of Nambanus, though to be the Western Satrap ruler Nahapana:...
and the port of
BarbarikonBarbarikon was the name of a sea port near the modern-day city of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, important in the Hellenistic era in Indian Ocean trade...
near today's
Karachiis the largest city, main seaport and the financial capital of Pakistan, and the capital of the province of Sindh. It is the 3rd largest city in the world by population and 20th largest city of the world, in terms of metropolitan population. It is Pakistan's premier centre of banking, industry, and...
, as mentioned in the
Periplus of the Erythraean SeaThe Periplus of the Erythraean Sea is a Greek periplus, describing navigation and trading opportunities from Roman Egyptian ports like Berenice along the coast of the Red Sea, and others along Northeast Africa and India...
. In his
Naturalis historia,
Pliny the ElderGaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was an author, naturalist, and natural philosopher as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
describes boxthorn as a medicinal plant recommended as a treatment for sore eyes and inflammation, as does
Pedanius DioscoridesPedanius Dioscorides was an ancient Greek physician, pharmacologist and botanist from Anazarbus, Cilicia, Asia Minor, who practised in ancient Rome during the time of Nero...
in his
P. Dioscoridae pharmacorum simplicium reique medicae.
Boxthorn is mentioned in the biblical
Book of ProverbsThe Book of Proverbs is a book of the Hebrew Bible , included in the collected works known as the "Writings" or Ketuvim.-Title:...
as besetting the paths of the wicked . In his 1753 publication
Species PlantarumSpecies Plantarum was first published in 1753, as a two-volume work by Carl Linnaeus. Its prime importance is perhaps that it is the primary starting point of plant nomenclature as it exists today. This means that the first names to be considered validly published in botany are those that appear...
, Linnaeus describes three
Lycium species:
L. afrum,
L. barbarum, and
L. europaeum.
The fruit, leaves, and bark of certain species have been used in China throughout more than 2,000 years of recorded history. Wolfberries are known in China as
gǒu qǐ zǐ (枸杞子), and are processed into herbal teas, soups, juices, and alcoholic beverages. The bark is also used, it is known in Chinese as
dì gǔ pí (地骨皮).
The berries may also be used whole; in
traditional Chinese medicineTraditional Chinese Medicine, also known as TCM , includes a range of traditional medical practices originating in China. Although well accepted in the mainstream of medical care throughout East Asia, it is considered an alternative medical system in much of the western world.TCM practices include...
they are always cooked, boiled either by themselves or in combination with other herbs; or as an ingredient in a soup. Whole wolfberries are used in this way for a variety of purposes in
traditional Korean medicineTraditional Korean medicine developed with the influence of other traditional medicine. Its techniques in treatment and diagnosis are both similar and unique to other traditional medicine.-History:...
and
traditional Tibetan medicineTibetan medicine is a centuries-old traditional medical system that employs a complex approach to diagnosis, incorporating techniques such as pulse analysis and urinalysis, and utilizes behavior and dietary modification, medicines composed of natural materials and physical therapies Tibetan...
, where boxthorn is called
dre-tsher-ma ("ghost thorn"). It is a rare ingredient in
kampōKampō medicine is the Japanese study and adaptation of Traditional Chinese medicine. The basic works of Chinese medicine came to Japan between the 7th and 9th centuries. Since then, the Japanese have created their own unique herbal medical system and diagnosis...
(traditional Japanese medicine), where the fruit is called
kukoshi (クコシ) and the bark
jikoppi (ジコッピ); these terms are derived from the Chinese names.
Ecology
Due to its ecologial requirements, boxthorns may be useful as a crop in arid regions. However, at least African Boxthorn (
L. ferocissimumLycium ferocissimum is a shrub in the nightshade family . The species is native to Cape Province and Orange Free State in South Africa and has become naturalised in Australia and New Zealand. It is listed on the Noxious Weed List for Australian States and Territories and is a declared noxious weed...
) has shown to be able to spread uncontrollably and become an invasive weed in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
.
Lycium species are used as food plants by the
larvaA larva is a young form of animal with indirect development, going through or undergoing metamorphosis ....
e of some
LepidopteraLepidoptera is an order of insects that includes moths and butterflies. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
species including
Coleophora vigilis (recorded on
L. ferocissimum).
Selected species
- Lycium acutifolium
- Lycium afrum L.
- Lycium ameghinoi
- Lycium amoenum
- Lycium andersonii
Lycium andersonii is a perennial shrub of the family Solanaceae, the Nightshades. It is commonly known as Anderson Thornbush, Anderson Wolfberry, Anderson Lycium, Anderson Desert Thorn, Anderson Boxthorn, Desert Tomato, Tomatillo, Wolf Berry, etc...
A.GrayAsa Gray is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century.He was instrumental in unifying the taxonomic knowledge of the plants of North America...
– Anderson Boxthorn (Southwestern United StatesThe Southwestern United States is defined as the states that lie west of the Mississippi River, with the qualification of a certain northern limit such as the 37, 38, 39, or 40 degree north latitude. A 97.33 longitude degree west could qualify as the separation of the American Southwest from the...
, Northwestern MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
)
- Lycium arenicola
- Lycium australe F.Muell.
- Lycium barbarum L. – Duke of Argyll's Teaplant, Ningxia Wolfberry
- Lycium bosciifolium
- Lycium berlandieri Dunal – Berlandier's wolfberry (Southwestern United States, Northwestern Mexico)
- Lycium brevipes
Lycium brevipes is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family known by the common name Baja desert-thorn. It is native to northwestern Mexico and it occurs in California as far as the Sonoran Desert as well as some of the Channel Islands. It grows in the scrub of desert and coastline. It...
- Lycium californicum
Lycium californicum is a spreading shrub in the nightshade family known by the common names California boxthorn and California desert-thorn. This thorny shrub has thick, fleshy, bulbous green leaves and bell-shaped white flowers with purple streaks or spots. It bears bright red shiny berries 3 to 6...
Nutt.Thomas Nuttall was an English botanist and zoologist, who lived and worked in America from 1808 until 1841....
ex A.Gray – California Boxthorn (Southern CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, northern Baja CaliforniaBaja California is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North Territory of Baja California. It has an area of , or 3.57% of the land mass of Mexico and comprises the northern half of the Baja California peninsula, north...
, ArizonaThe State of Arizona is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix. The second largest city is Tucson, followed in size by the four Phoenix metropolitan area cities of Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, and Scottsdale.Arizona was the 48th and...
)
- Lycium carolinianum Walter
Thomas Walter was a British-born American botanist. He is best known for his book Flora Caroliniana , an early yet fairly complete catalog of the flowering plants of South Carolina....
– Carolina desert-thorn (Southeastern United StatesThe US Southeast is the eastern portion of the Southern United States, but the Census Bureau does not provide a standard definition of a "Southeast" region of the United States, and organizations that need to subdivide the US are free to define a "Southeast" region to fit their needs...
, including TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
)
- Lycium chilense
- Lycium chinense Mill. – Chinese Teaplant, Wolfberry
- Lycium cinereum
- Lycium cooperi
Lycium cooperi is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family known by the common name peach thorn. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it grows in a variety of desert and mountain habitat types. This is a bushy, erect shrub approaching a maximum height of 4 meters with...
- Lycium decumbens
- Lycium depressum
- Lycium eenii
- Lycium europaeum syn. L. intricatum
- Lycium exsertum
- Lycium ferocissimum
Lycium ferocissimum is a shrub in the nightshade family . The species is native to Cape Province and Orange Free State in South Africa and has become naturalised in Australia and New Zealand. It is listed on the Noxious Weed List for Australian States and Territories and is a declared noxious weed...
Miers – African Boxthorn
- Lycium fremontii
Lycium fremontii is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family native to northwestern Mexico and the southernmost mountains and deserts of California and Arizona in the United States. It often grows in areas with alkaline soils, such as playas, and is commonly known as Frémont's desert...
- Lycium gariepense
- Lycium grandicalyx
- Lycium horridum
- Lycium hirsutum
- Lycium macrodon
- Lycium mascarenense
- Lycium nodosum
- Lycium oxycarpum Dunal
- Lycium pallidum
- Lycium pilifolium
- Lycium pumilum
- Lycium ruthenicum
- Lycium sandwicense A.Gray – Ōhelo kai (Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states, and is the only state made up entirely of islands. It is located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia. The state was admitted to the Union on August...
)
- Lycium schizocalyx
- Lycium schweinfurthii
- Lycium shawii Roem. & Schult. – Arabian Boxthorn
- Lycium sokotranum
Lycium sokotranum is a species of plant in the Solanaceae family. It is endemic to Yemen.-References:* Miller, A. 2004. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
Wagner & Vierh. (YemenYemen , officially the Republic of Yemen is a country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia...
)
- Lycium strandveldense
- Lycium tenue
- Lycium tenuispinosum
- Lycium tetrandrum
- Lycium villosum
"Lycium eleagnus", "Lycium eleganus" and "Lycium eleganus barbarum" are obsolete or
inventedThe phrase nomen nudum is a Latin term, meaning "naked name". In taxonomy, this is used to indicate a term or phrase which looks like a scientific name, and may well have been intended to become a scientific name, but fails to be one because it was not published with an adequate description ,...
names often used to promote "authentic" "Tibetan goji".
Lycium foetidum and
L. japonicum are junior synonyms of
Serissa foetida =
S. japonica.
Islam
- In the Muslim text Sahih Muslim
Sahih Muslim is one of the Six major collections of the hadith in Sunni Islam, oral traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. It is the second most authentic hadith collection according to Sunni Muslims, the most authentic book of hadith after Sahih Al-Bukhari...
, Book 041, Number 6985, the boxthorn, or gharqad, is described as 'the tree of the Jews':The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews.
See also
- Bushroot
Dr. Reginald Bushroot is a fictional character, a supervillain from the animated television series Darkwing Duck, produced by The Walt Disney Company...
, a fictional mad scientistA mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if they even have...
from the DisneyThe Walt Disney Company , often simply known as Disney, is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world, known for its family-friendly products...
cartoon series Darkwing DuckDarkwing Duck is an American animated television series produced by The Walt Disney Company that ran from 1991-1995 and 1996-1997 on both the syndicated programming block The Disney Afternoon and Saturday mornings on ABC. It featured an eponymous superhero anthropomorphic duck with the alter ego of...
who transforms himself into a Lycium nycanthropus-duckDuck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. The ducks are divided between several subfamilies listed in full in the Anatidae article; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered ducks...
chimera
- Earl Mindell
Earl Lawrence Mindell is a Canadian-American writer and nutritionist who currently resides in Beverly Hills, California. He is a writer who has authored over 45 books on health and wellness, and is a strong advocate of nutrition as both preventive and homeopathy.Mindell's controversial theories on...
External links