Lycium torreyi
Lycium texanum
squaw desert-thorn, squawthorn, Torrey wolfberry, Torrey's box thorn, Torrey's wolfberry
Texas desert-thorn, Texas wolfberry
blade spatulate to obovate, 10–50 × 1.5–15 mm, ± fleshy, surfaces glabrous.
blade linear to spatulate, to 20 × 3 mm, surfaces hispidulous-puberulous.
2–8-flowered fascicles or solitary flowers.
2-flowered fascicles or solitary flowers.
5–20 mm.
1.5–9 mm.
(4–)5-merous;
calyx cupulate to tubular, 2.5–6 mm, lobe lengths 0.25-0.5 times tube;
corolla white to greenish lavender, narrowly tubular, 5–15 mm, lobes spreading, 1–4 mm, margins densely ciliate-lanate;
stamens slightly exserted.
4–5-merous;
calyx cupulate, 1.5–3 mm, minutely lobed;
corolla lavender to white, tubular to funnelform, 7–8 mm, lobes 1.5–2.5 mm;
stamens slightly exserted.
orange to red, ovoid, 6–12 mm, fleshy.
orange-red, ovoid, 3–8 mm, fleshy.
8–30.
50+.
= 24.
Lycium torreyi
Lycium texanum
In the flora area, Lycium torreyi occurs in Arizona, southeastern California, eastern Nevada (Clark and Lincoln counties), western New Mexico, western Texas, and southern Utah. It can be distinguished from L. andersonii by its densely ciliate-lanate corolla lobes, and the mouth of the corolla is not quite as narrow. Further, L. torreyi usually occurs by streams or canals, with branches more cascading than upright. C. L. Hitchcock (1932) reported the fruits to be juicy and sweet.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
F. Chiang Cabrera (1981) noted that Lycium texanum is similar to L. andersonii, differing mainly in the type of pubescence (short, straight hairs versus longer, curved hairs). Data from at least one nuclear gene region suggest a close relationship with L. andersonii (R. A. Levin et al. 2009), and it is possible that L. texanum is simply the Texas variant of L. andersonii.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
