白刺 bai ci

Shrubs 1-2 m tall, prostrate to spreading, much branched. Branches arched, young branches white, sterile branches spiny at apex. Leaves in fascicles of 2 or 3(or 4) on current year branchlets; leaf blade broadly oblanceolate, 1.8-3 cm × 6-8 mm, base cuneate, margin entire or rarely apically dentate, apex obtuse. Inflorescences and infructescences in dense cymes. Fruit dark red, ovoid to sometimes ellipsoid, 10-13 × 6-9 mm; mesocarp rosy when ripe. Stone narrowly ovoid, 5-6 mm, apex shortly acuminate. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Jul-Aug.

● Sandy areas around lakes, oases, river terraces, sandy plains, aeolian basins, clay deserts, semidesert areas; 1900-3500 m. Gansu, Hebei, W Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, N Shaanxi, Xinjiang, NE Xizang.

The specimens reported from China as Nitraria schoberi Linnaeus mostly belong here.