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Lycium barbarum
Also called Duke Of Argyll's Teaplant, Barbary Matrimony Vine, Chinese Boxthorn, Chinese Wolfberry, Duke Of Argyll's Tea Tree, Duke Of Argyll's Teatree, Himalayan Goji
Matrimony vine (Lycium barbarum) is a deciduous, arching shrub from China, grown for its edible berries (goji or wolfberry) and as an ornamental. It tolerates poor soil and drought, and is easy to grow in a sunny, open spot.
Lycium barbarum is a shrub native to China, with present-day range across Asia and southeast Europe. It is one of two species of boxthorn in the family Solanaceae from which the goji berry or wolfberry is harvested, the other being Lycium chinense.
Common names of the plant in English include Chinese wolfberry, barbary matrimony vine, red medlar or matrimony vine. In the United Kingdom it is also known as Duke of Argyll's tea tree after Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll who introduced it in the country in the 1730s.
Phytochemicals present in the fruit, root, and other parts of the plants have been studied in some detail.
The main compounds in the fruit (23% of the dry mass) are polysaccharides and proteoglycans. Carotenoid pigments are the second major group, chiefly zeaxanthin dipalmitate. Other detected compounds include flavonoids derived from myricetin, quercetin, and kaempferol; hexadecanoic acid, linoleic acid, and myristic acid. Other compounds include β-sitosterol, scopoletin, and p-coumaric acid. The alkaloid atropine, common in plants of the family Solanaceae, is not detectable.
Baja desert-thorn · Chinese desert-thorn · European Matrimony Vine · Lycium humile · Pale desert-thorn · Desert-thorn
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Lycium barbarum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
