Lycium chinense
Chinese wolfberry, goji berry
no rights reserved, uploaded by 葉子 · CC0
Family: Solanaceae · Type: Shrub
Lycium chinense (Chinese wolfberry) is a California shrub in the Solanaceae family.
Chinese wolfberry is a naturalized shrub found in disturbed ground, often escaped from cultivation at elevations up to 770 meters. Flowering from May to July and September to November, this plant produces pale purple flowers 9 to 14 millimeters long with five lobes. Growing as an erect shrub up to 3 meters tall with curved to arched branches, it lacks prominent thorns or has only short thorns. Its leaves are subsessile, lance-linear to ovate, measuring 1.5 to 10 centimeters in length. The fruit is an ovoid red berry 7 to 22 millimeters long, containing over 50 seeds.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 0 sympatric species; geographically isolated but range data limited
Habitat and range
Habitat: Disturbed ground, escape from cultivation
Elevation: <= 770 m
Outside California: to eastern United States, native to China, introduced elsewhere in Eurasia
Bloom period
Lycium chinense blooms May-Jul, Sep--Nov.
How to tell it apart
vs Prunus: Lycium has small tubular nightshade flowers; Prunus has 5-petaled rose-family flowers with many stamens.; vs Salvia: Lycium has thorny branches; Salvia has square stems and 2-lipped mint-family flowers without thorns.; vs Ceanothus: Lycium has thorns and tubular flowers; Ceanothus has tiny clustered flowers and no thorns.; vs Tetradymia: Lycium has tubular nightshade flowers; Tetradymia has yellow daisy-like composite flowers.; vs Atriplex: Lycium has tubular flowers and thorns; Atriplex has tiny wind-pollinated flowers without petals.
Frequently asked questions
When does Lycium chinense bloom?
Lycium chinense blooms May-Jul, Sep--Nov.
What plant family does Lycium chinense belong to?
Lycium chinense is in the Solanaceae family, genus Lycium.
What habitat does Lycium chinense grow in?
Lycium chinense grows in Disturbed ground, escape from cultivation.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.