Common Name(s): Wolfberry

Synonym(s):

Family: Solanaceae

Native To: Sonoran Desert

Native Habitat:

Growth Habit:

Flowering:

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Natural History and Cultivation Notes: This thorny shrub provides a perfect habitat for many desert creatures. Birds are especially fond of the dense thickets of growth. The small flowers and berries of this plant attract insect and bird pollinators, including hummingbirds. It produces reddish orange fruits about the size of a pea, considered to be edible by wildlife and humans alike.

Ethnobotany: Many indigenous people of the Southwest have eaten the small fruits in a variety of ways: fresh, mashed into a pulp, dried, or made into a juice. For some tribes the importance of these fruits goes beyond their diet. For example, wolfberries have been recorded as having ceremonial significance as well as medicinal use as a painkiller.

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