Texas wolfberry

Shrubs erect, 1–2 m; bark silvery tan to dark brown; stems his­pidulous. Leaves: blade linear to spatulate, to 20 × 3 mm, sur­faces hispidulous-puberulous. Inflorescences 2-flowered fas­cicles or solitary flowers. Pedi­cels 1.5–9 mm. Flowers 4–5-merous; calyx cupulate, 1.5–3 mm, minutely lobed; corolla lavender to white, tubular to funnelform, 7–8 mm, lobes 1.5–2.5 mm; stamens slightly exserted. Berries orange-red, ovoid, 3–8 mm, fleshy. Seeds 50+.

Flowering Mar–Oct. Rocky and sandy soils, desert canyons, semidesert grasslands, thorn scrub (Trans-Pecos region); of conservation concern; 1000–1400 m; Tex.

F. Chiang Cabrera (1981) noted that Lycium texanum is similar to L. andersonii, differing mainly in the type of pubescence (short, straight hairs versus longer, curved hairs). Data from at least one nuclear gene region suggest a close relationship with L. andersonii (R. A. Levin et al. 2009), and it is possible that L. texanum is simply the Texas variant of L. andersonii.