Wolfberry
Berlandier's Desert-Thorn
Lycium berlandieri
The fragrant flowers are visited by moths at night and butterflies in the morning before the heat of the day withers them. White Tank Mountain Park, Maricopa Co., Arizona, USA on 17 August 2018.
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FLOWERS: Small tubular flowers are flared open and are very pale to
milky white. The calyx is free of sticky hairs. Flowering occurs in summer after
start of monsoon rains.
FRUIT: Bright, orange-red berries with flavor of tomatoes containing a
several hardened seeds.
LEAVES: Linear to narrowly elliptic leaves are smooth to slightly
roughened.
SHRUB: A medium to large shrub with rigid branches and not-so-sharp
thorns.
RANGE: Southern portions of the Sonoran Desert and ranging eastward
to West Texas and northern Mexico.
ARMED: The thorns are at the twig tips and not particularly sharp on
most specimens.
South Mountain Park, Maricopa Co., Arizona, USA on 13 August 2010.