Flora of North America species comparison

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Lycium fremontii

Fremont box thorn, Fremont wolfberry, Fremont's desert-thorn, Frémont's desert-thorn
Habit Shrubs erect, 1–3 m; bark tan, gray, or brown; stems densely glandular-pubescent.
Leaves

blade bright green, spatulate, 8–35 × 2–15 mm, fleshy, surfaces densely glandular-pubescent.
Inflorescences

2–3-flowered fascicles or solitary flowers.
Pedicels

4–25 mm.
Flowers

bisexual or pistillate, 5-merous;

calyx tubular, 2–10 mm, lobes to 1–2 mm, glandular-puberulent;

corolla deep lavender to purple, tubular to funnelform, 8–20 mm, lobes 2–8 mm;

stamens included to slightly exserted.
Berries

red, ovoid, 5–9 mm, fleshy.
Seeds

40–60.
2n

= 96, 120.

Lycium fremontii
Phenology Flowering Jan–Apr.
Habitat Sandy washes, saline flats (Sonoran Desert).
Elevation 100–1300 m. (300–4300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Lycium fremontii occurs in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, southern California, and northwestern Mexico. Populations of L. fremontii are morphologically gynodioecious (functionally dioecious), and plants are sexually dimorphic for flower size. Pistillate plants are often covered with orange-red berries in March and April. Plants are robust; in southern Arizona they often thrive at the edges of agricultural fields, where there is water run-off. This species co-occurs with L. andersonii, L. berlandieri, and L. californicum. However, the combination of larger bright green leaves, deep lavender flowers, floral dimorphism, and considerable glandular pubescence differentiates this species.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 14.
Parent taxa Solanaceae > Lycium
Sibling taxa
L. andersonii, L. barbarum, L. berlandieri, L. brevipes, L. californicum, L. carolinianum, L. chinense, L. cooperi, L. exsertum, L. ferocissimum, L. macrodon, L. pallidum, L. parishii, L. puberulum, L. shockleyi, L. texanum, L. torreyi
Synonyms L. fremontii var. congestum
Name authority A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 6: 46. (1862) — (as fremonti)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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