Lycium

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Lycium
African boxthorn.jpg
African boxthorn ( Lycium ferocissimum )
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Tribe: Lycieae
Genus: Lycium
L. (1753) [1]
Species [2]

101; see text

Carte lycium.jpg
Synonyms [2]
  • AscleiaRaf. (1838)
  • CantaleaRaf. (1838)
  • EvoistaRaf. (1838)
  • GrabowskiaSchltdl. (1832)
  • JasminoidesDuhamel (1755)
  • OplukionRaf. (1838)
  • PanzeriaJ.F.Gmel. (1791)
  • PhrodusMiers (1849)
  • PukanthusRaf. (1838)
  • RhopalostigmaPhil. (1860)
  • TeremisRaf. (1838)
  • TrilienaRaf. (1838)

Lycium is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. [3] The genus has a disjunct distribution around the globe, with species occurring on most continents in temperate and subtropical 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 include box-thorn, [5] wolfberry, and desert-thorn. [6] Plants of the World Online currently accepts 101 species. [2] . Other estimates are of 70 [4] to 80 [7] [8] species.

Etymology

The generic name Lycium is derived from the Greek word λυκιον (lykion), which was applied by Pliny the Elder (23-79) and Pedanius Dioscorides (ca. 40–90) to a plant known as dyer's buckthorn. It was probably a Rhamnus species and was named for Lycia (Λυκία), the ancient southern Anatolian region in which it grew. [9] [10] The berry is called lycii fructus ("lycium fruit") in old Latin pharmacological texts.

Description

Lycium barbarum LyciumBarbarum-bloem-hr.jpg
Lycium barbarum

Lycium are shrubs, often thorny, growing 1 to 4 meters tall. The leaves are small, narrow, and fleshy, and are alternately arranged, sometimes in fascicles. 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 juicy berry which can be red, orange, yellow, or black. It may have few seeds or many. [5] [7] Most Lycium have fleshy, red berries with over 10 seeds, but a few American taxa have hard fruits with two seeds. [8]

While most Lycium are monoecious, producing bisexual flowers with functional male and female parts, some species are gynodioecious, with some individuals bearing bisexual flowers and some producing functionally female flowers. [11]

Uses

Lycium has been known to European herbalists since ancient times, and species were traded from the Far East to Europe by the Romans, for example via Ariaca and the port of Barbarikon near today's Karachi, as mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea . In his Naturalis historia , Pliny the Elder describes boxthorn as a medicinal plant, as does Pedanius Dioscorides in his P. Dioscoridae pharmacorum simplicium reique medicae. [12]

In his 1753 publication Species Plantarum , Linnaeus describes three Lycium species: L. afrum , L. barbarum , and L. europaeum . [12]

L. barbarum Lycium-barbarum-fruits.JPG
L. barbarum

Lycium, particularly L. barbarum, have long been used in traditional Chinese medicine. [13] [14] The leaves and roots of other species of Lycium, such as L. europaeum, when mixed with water, have been used in folk medicine. [15] The fruit of L. barbatum and L. chinense, known as goji berry, is commonly consumed as a dried fruit. [13] The Chinese tonic gou qi zi ("wolfberry fruit") is made of the fruit of any of several Lycium species, and is used as a dietary supplement. [13]

Ecology

Lycium species mostly occur in arid and semi-arid climates, and a few are known from coastal zones in somewhat saline habitat types. [4]

Invasive species include L. ferocissimum , which was introduced to Australia and New Zealand and has become a dense, thorny pest plant there. It injures livestock, harbors pest mammals and insects, and displaces native species. [16]

Species

Lycium intricatum Lycium intricatum.jpg
Lycium intricatum
Lycium sandwicense Starr 010206-0232 Lycium sandwicense.jpg
Lycium sandwicense

101 species are accepted. [2] [17] [18]

Formerly placed here

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goji</span> Fruit of Lycium barbarum

Goji, goji berry, or wolfberry is the sweet fruit of either Lycium barbarum or Lycium chinense, two closely related species of boxthorn in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. L. barbarum and L. chinense fruits are similar but can be distinguished by differences in taste and sugar content.

<i>Physalis</i> Genus of flowering plants

Physalis is a genus of approximately 75 to 90 flowering plants in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), which are native to the Americas and Australasia. At least 46 species are endemic to Mexico. Cultivated and weedy species have been introduced worldwide. A defining feature of Physalis is a large, papery husk derived from the calyx, which partly or fully encloses the fruit. Many species bear edible fruit, and some species are cultivated.

<i>Lycium barbarum</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Lycium chinense</i> Species of flowering plant

Lycium chinense is one of two species of boxthorn shrub in the family Solanaceae. Along with Lycium barbarum, it produces the goji berry ("wolfberry"). Two varieties are recognized, L. chinense var. chinense and L. chinense var. potaninii. It is also known as Chinese boxthorn, Chinese matrimony-vine, Chinese teaplant, Chinese wolfberry, wolfberry, and Chinese desert-thorn.

Goji refers to the fruit of Lycium barbarum and Lycium chinense, two very closely related species of boxthorn in the family Solanaceae.

Christmasberry can refer to any one of several shrubs or small trees, as well as their colorful fruit:

<i>Lycium californicum</i> Species of flowering plant

Lycium californicum is a spreading shrub in the nightshade family known by the common names California boxthorn and California desert-thorn.

<i>Lycium andersonii</i> Species of flowering plant

Lycium andersonii is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its common names include water-jacket, redberry desert-thorn, Anderson thornbush, Anderson's desert thorn, Anderson boxthorn, Anderson lycium, Anderson wolfberry, and squawberry.

<i>Lycium ferocissimum</i> Species of shrub

Lycium ferocissimum, the African boxthorn or boxthorn, is a shrub in the nightshade family (Solanaceae) indigenous to South Africa.

<i>Iochroma arborescens</i> Species of plant

Iochroma arborescens is a species of flowering plant in the genus Iochroma, belonging to the nightshade family Solanaceae. Formerly it was considered the single species in the monotypic genus Acnistus. Common names include gallinero, mata-gallina, fruta-de-sabiá, hollowheart, wild tobacco, siyou, bastard sirio, galán arbóreo, tabaco de monte, nigüito, marieneira, güitite, and tabak djab.

Coleophora ningxiana is a moth of the family Coleophoridae which is endemic to China (Ningxia).

<i>Lycium ruthenicum</i> Species of flowering plant

Lycium ruthenicum, is a flowering plant commonly known as Russian box thorn in the West. is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family which can be found in Central Asia, southern part of Russia, throughout Northwest China, Northern India and Pakistan. Also commonly known as black fruit wolfberry, siyah goji, and kaokee.

<i>Lycium afrum</i> Species of shrub

Lycium afrum, the kraal honey thorn is a shrub in the potato family (Solanaceae), indigenous to the Western Cape Province, South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solanaceae</span> Family of flowering plants that includes tomatoes, potatoes and tobacco

The Solanaceae, or the nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and ornamentals. Many members of the family contain potent alkaloids, and some are highly toxic, but many—including tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, bell and chili peppers—are used as food. The family belongs to the order Solanales, in the asterid group and class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons). The Solanaceae consists of about 98 genera and some 2,700 species, with a great diversity of habitats, morphology and ecology.

<i>Lycium australe</i> Species of plant

Lycium australe, the Australian boxthorn, is a native Australian plant with large sharp woody spines, small leaves and very small berries. It is closely related to Lycium ferocissimum, which is listed as an invasive weed in Australia, New Zealand and Cyprus.

<i>Lycium europaeum</i> Species of plant in the genus Lycium

Lycium europaeum, the European tea tree, European box‑thorn, or European matrimony‑vine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae. It is native to the entire Mediterranean region, and has been introduced to the Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Balearic Islands. Its fruit is edible.

Lycium ferocissimum, the African boxthorn, is a species of shrub in the family Solanaceae (nightshades). They have a self-supporting growth form. Individuals can grow to 1.5 m.

Lycium pumilum is a shrub in the nightshade family (Solanaceae) indigenous to South Africa and Namibia.

Lycium cinereum is a shrub in the nightshade family (Solanaceae) indigenous to southern Africa. It is widespread across South Africa, as well as southern Namibia and Botswana.

References

  1. ↑ "Genus: Lycium L." Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2009-09-01. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Lycium L. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  3. ↑ "Genus Lycium". Taxonomy. UniProt . Retrieved 2009-04-16.
  4. 1 2 3 Fukuda, T., et al. (2001). Phylogeny and biogeography of the genus Lycium (Solanaceae): Inferences from chloroplast DNA sequences. Archived 2003-11-30 at the Wayback Machine Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 19(2), 246-58.
  5. 1 2 Lycium. The Jepson eFlora 2013.
  6. ↑ "Lycium". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  7. 1 2 Lycium. Flora of China.
  8. 1 2 Levin, R. A. and J. S. Miller. (2005). Relationships within tribe Lycieae (Solanaceae): paraphyly of Lycium and multiple origins of gender dimorphism. American Journal of Botany 92(12), 2044-53.
  9. ↑ Austin, D. F. (2004). Florida Ethnobotany. CRC Press. p. 677. ISBN   9780849323324.
  10. ↑ Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan ISBN   0-333-47494-5.
  11. ↑ Miller, J. S. and D. L. Venable. (2002). The transition to gender dimorphism on an evolutionary background of self-incompatibility: an example from Lycium (Solanaceae). American Journal of Botany 89(12), 1907-15.
  12. 1 2 Hitchcock, C. L. (1932). A monographic study of the genus Lycium 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).
  13. 1 2 3 Gross PM (2007). "Goji: what it is... and isn't". NewHope Network, Penton Media Inc.
  14. ↑ "Goji Berries" (PDF). UK Food Standards Agency, Novel Foods, Additives and Supplements Division. June 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  15. ↑ Nissim Krispil, Medicinal Plants in Israel and Throughout the World - the Complete Guide, Or Yehuda (Israel) 2000, pp. 38–39 (Hebrew)
  16. ↑ Lycium ferocissimum (African boxthorn). Invasive Species Compendium. CABI.
  17. 1 2 "GRIN Species Records of Lycium". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 2008-10-05. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  18. ↑ "Lycium". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 2010-12-13.
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