Lycium barbarum

Lycium Barbarum, commonly known as Goji, or also known as Barbarian Lycium, Common Lycium, is a deciduous bush, bushy, with occasionally thorny arched stems, adorned with tiny pink-purple flowers followed by oval, red-orange, sweet and tangy berries from summer to early autumn. They have been known for their nutritional properties for millennia and are exceptionally rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Lycium barbarum belongs to the Solanaceae family, just like tomatoes and potatoes. It is a deciduous bush with a controversial origin. It was long considered to come from China, but recent research has shown that it could be native to the Mediterranean basin, which is supported by the species name 'barbarum,' Barbaria, which was associated with North Africa in Linnaeus' time. The common lycium is a woody bush, showing an upright, spreading, branching habit, reaching a height of 1.50 to 3 m (4 ft 11 in to 9 ft 10 in) at maturity, depending on growing conditions. Its growth is moderately fast. The numerous branches are flexible and drooping, with a few long sharp thorns. The foliage is deciduous, thick, leathery, fairly bright green in young leaves, turning green-grey in mature leaves. These latter, of modest size, are elliptical and elongated, wider towards the base, and measure 2 to 3 cm (0.8 to 1.2 in) in length and 6 mm (0.2 in) in width. The nectar-rich flowering takes place from June to July, in the form of small flowers, 10 mm (0.4 in) in diameter, tubular, campanulate and star-shaped, and dark pink to purple. It is followed by the formation of ovoid berries, first green then orange at maturity, about 18 mm (0.7 in) in length. These berries are edible when ripe: it is preferable to consume dried berries, picked when fully ripe, when the solanine content has decreased in the pulp. The fruits contain about twenty small seeds. This bush is shallow rooting.

This small fruit is rich in carbohydrates and proteins, low in lipids. It is very rich in calcium, potassium, iron, selenium, vitamin E, vitamin B2, beta-carotene (which gives it its orange colour), and vitamin C (which makes iron particularly assimilable by our body). Lycium pulp has been the subject of numerous studies in recent years, which mostly show that it has antioxidant properties.

The Goji fits perfectly into the ornamental garden. With its long branches, it can easily be trained on a trellis. It is a beautiful bush that can be included in a rustic hedge, along with currants and flowering shrubs, or trained with thornless garden blackberries. As it is quite drought-resistant and very hardy, it can be planted anywhere, from north to south, and it will adapt to the climate. It will simply be more productive if the soil is rich and remains moist.

Lyciums were used in Roman and Greek pharmacopoeias, they fell into oblivion, and then we saw them reappear here, in the form of 'Goji berries,' towards the end of the 90s, when China opened up to the world and experienced rapid development.