7. Lycium andersonii A. Gray, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts. 7: 388. 1868.
[F]
Water jacket, redberry desert-thorn
Lycium andersonii var. deserticola (C. L. Hitchcock) Jepson; L. andersonii var. pubescens S. Watson; L. andersonii var. wrightii A. Gray
Shrubs erect, 0.5–3 m; bark silvery tan to dark brown; stems glabrous or pubescent. Leaves: blade spatulate, 3–35 × 1–8 mm, fleshy to succulent, sometimes glaucous, surfaces glabrous or pubescent. Inflorescences 2-flowered fascicles or solitary flowers. Pedicels 1–10 mm. Flowers 4–5-merous; calyx cupulate, 1.5–3 mm, lobe lengths 0.25 times tube; corolla white to light purple, narrowly tubular-funnelform, 4–16 mm, lobes 1–2.5 mm, margins glabrous or sparsely ciliate; stamens included or exserted. Berries orange to red, ovoid, 3–8 mm, fleshy. Seeds 50+. 2n = 24.
Flowering Feb–May. Desert washes, flats, grasslands; 100–1900 m; Ariz., Calif., Nev., N.Mex., Utah; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Sonora).
F. Chiang Cabrera (1981) recognized three varieties of Lycium andersonii (var. andersonii, var. deserticola, var. wrightii) in the flora area; these varieties are based on corolla lobe number (four or five), flower size, and leaf size and shape. Distinctiveness of these varieties is unclear; these characters generally vary within most species and indeed within individuals.
