Lycium barbarum aka Goji Berry

Lycium barbarum, also known as Chinese wolfberry or barbary matrimony vine, is a deciduous shrub native to China but can be found across Asia and southeast Europe. It belongs to the Solanaceae family and is one of the two species from which the goji berry or wolfberry is harvested, the other being Lycium chinense. The plant is also referred to as red medlar or matrimony vine. In the United Kingdom, it is known as Duke of Argyll's tea tree, named after the individual who introduced it to the country in the 1730s. Growing up to 3 meters tall, L. barbarum has sparsely spiny stems and narrow, dull green leaves. In late spring and summer, it produces small dingy purple flowers, followed by orange-red berries. The plant is an important commercial crop in northern China, particularly in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, where it is known as Ningxia gǒuqǐ. The shrub has weak arching branches, often reduced to short leafless spines. Its leaves grow in an alternating arrangement or in bundles of up to three. The green lanceolate leaves can be up to 25 mm long when clustered, and up to 55 mm long when alternate. The flowers, growing in groups of one to three in the leaf axils, have whitish tubes crowned by five or six radial triangular sepals. The sepals are whitish on the lower side and deep mauve on the top side. Each flower contains five stamens and an 8–11.5 mm long pistil. The fruit of L. barbarum, the goji berry, is a bright orange-red ellipsoid berry, typically 1–2 cm in diameter. The fruiting calyx is split deeply once or twice. The number of seeds in each berry varies from 10 to 60, and the seeds themselves are yellowish and compressed with a curved embryo. The plant is self-pollinating but can also be cross-pollinated by insects. The species is dispersed by birds and animals that consume its fruit. Flowering occurs from June to September, while berry maturation takes place from August to October, depending on the geographical location and climate. In regions without frost, fruiting is continuous, and the shrub retains its leaves throughout the year.