Overview of lycium chinense wolfberry

Wolfberry, i.e. goji berry is the fruit of Lycium barbarum and Lycium chinense, two closely related species of boxthorn in the family Solanaceae (which also includes the potato, tomato,eggplant, deadly nightshade, chili pepper, and tobacco). The two species are native to Asia.

goji berry

Wolfberry species are deciduous woody perennial plants, growing 1–3 m high. L. chinense is grown in the south of China and tends to be somewhat shorter, while L. barbarum is grown in the north, primarily in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and tends to be somewhat taller.

Leaves and flowers of wolfberry

Wolfberry leaves form on the shoot either in an alternating arrangement or in bundles of up to three, each having either a lanceolate (shaped like a spearhead longer than it is wide) or ovate (egg-like) shape. Leaf dimensions are 7.0 cm wide by 3.5 cm broad with blunted or rounded tips.
The flowers grow in groups of one to three in the leaf axils. The calyx (eventually ruptured by the growing berry) consists of bell-shaped or tubular sepals forming short, triangular lobes. The corollae are lavender or light purple, 9–14 mm wide with five or six lobes shorter than the tube. The stamens are structured with filaments longer than the anthers. The anthers are longitudinally dehiscent.
In the Northern Hemisphere, flowering occurs from June through September and berry maturation from August to October, depending on the latitude, altitude, and climate.

Fruit of wolfberry

These species produce a bright orange-red, ellipsoid berry 1–2 cm in diameter. The number of seeds in each berry varies widely based on cultivar and fruit size, containing 10–60 tiny yellow seeds that are compressed with a curved embryo. The berries ripen from July to October in the Northern Hemisphere.
Goji extract of carcinogen-induced mutations inhibited the rate of 91.8% and 82.6%, respectively. Wolfberry observed by the method of in vitro cell biological effects of cancer cells, medlar proof of human gastric adenocarcinoma, cervical carcinoma cells were significantly reduced, medlar radiation combined with radiotherapy significantly synergies.