大白刺 da bai ci

Nitraria praevisa Bobrov.

Shrubs 1-2 m tall, prostrate to erect. Young branches white, sterile branches spiny at apex. Leaves in clusters of 2 or 3 on current year branchlets; leaf blade oblong-spatulate to obovate, 2.5-4 × 0.7-2 cm, margin entire or irregularly 2- or 3-dentate at apex, apex rounded, obtuse, or truncate. Flowers sparse. Fruit dark red, ovoid, 1.2-1.8 × 0.8-1.5 cm; mesocarp purplish black. Stone narrowly ovoid, 8-10 × 3-4 mm. Fl. Jun, fr. Jul-Aug.

Lake margins, oases in desert areas; below 3300 m. Gansu, W Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, NW Shaanxi, Xinjiang [Mongolia, Russia].

The fruit is edible and the juice used as a beverage.