7. Lycium L., Sp. Pl. 191. 1753. Gen. Pl. ed. 5:88. 1754; Clarke in Hook. f., Fl. Brit. Ind. 4:240. 1883; N. Feinburn and Stearn in Israel J. Bot. 12 (3): 114-122. 1963; Feinburn in Coll. Bot. (Barcelona), 7:fasc. no. 1, 17: 359-379. 1968; Schoenbeck-Temesy in Rech. f., Fl. Iran. 100:29. 1972; Baytop in Davis, Fl. Turk. 6:445.1978.
YASIN J. NASIR
Shrubs, often armed with shoots modified into spines. Leaves entire, sometimes verticillate. Flowers 1-6 in number, axillary, white to light purple. Calyx persistent, tubular to ± campanulate, 4-5-lobed, irregular; lobes small, acute to obtuse, shorter or equalling the corolla tube, rarely more, acute or obtuse. Anthers included or exserted, dehiscing longitudinally; filaments glabrous or pilose to villous. Ovary bilocular. Style slender, stigma capitate. Berry globose or oblong, red or black. Seeds reniform, compressed, subglabrous.
A difficult genus both taxonomically and nomenclaturally. An overall revision based on good field observations on fruit and flower characters is desired. The present account is therefore provisional in nature.
100 species, widespread in warm temperate region of both hemispheres, mainly S. America. Represented in Pakistan by 7 species.
