Fremont Wolfberry,                         Fremont desert thorn

Lycium fremontii

Fremont desert thorn blooming at Academy Village

About the Plant

Fremont thornbush, a much-branched shrub that can grow to 8-9 feet and almost as wide, is native to southern Arizona and adjacent California and Mexico. Purple flowers appear in spring, followed by red fruit loved by birds and other animals. The small, clustered leaves are drought deciduous. It is not unusual for the plant to be without leaves for several months of the year.

Grow Fremont thornbush in full sun in soil with good drainage. It can exist on natural rainfall once established but a monthly soaking in summer will help prevent complete leaf loss and perhaps stimulate a second flowering. Prune only to remove a wayward branch as the dense complex branching is natural for this plant.

Wildlife value: bees enthusiastically feed on the flowers and both hummingbirds and butterflies visit them. The red fruit is eaten by birds, including quail and doves, and probably small animals as well. The dense branching provides protection for birds and may be used as a nest site. An exceptional wildlife plant!

More Information

Weekly Plant on wolfberry

Botanical Key to Lycium (wolfberry) Species in Arizona

Map of distribution in US (yellow indicates plant is native but rare)

Technical botanical description from SEINet

In books:

Native Plants for Southwestern Landscapes by Judy Mielke, page 183, 186.

Trees and Shrubs for the Southwest by Mary Irish, page 230.

ID Characteristics

This plant is in the Solanaceae - the nightshade family.
Fremont wolfberry has many branches that often cross and interweave. It can grow up to 9 feet high and almost as wide.
The leaves are alternate, up to an inch long but often shorter, especially if there has been little rain. They are fascicled, that is clustered together. Each leaf is widest on the end and hairy, an important ID characteristic when keying out Lycium species. The tips of the branches of Fremont wolfberry may be sharply pointed, making it a good barrier plant.
The flowers are less than half an inch long. There are 5 petals, often deep lavender but sometimes much lighter. They appear January-April and occasionally at other times. The calyx is hairy.
The fruit matures to a bright red and is less than half an inch long. The calyx often splits as the fruit matures.