Anderson's Wolfberry

Meet Anderson's Wolfberry (Lycium andersonii) — known in Spanish as tomatillo del desierto or simply lycio, a thorny desert shrub that has quietly fed people and wildlife across the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts for thousands of years. A close relative of the goji berry, its small red fruits were harvested by O'odham, Tohono O'odham, and other Indigenous desert peoples as a vital food source — eaten fresh, dried, or ground into a paste for long journeys.

🌎 Native Range

Lycium andersonii is native to the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts, ranging from southern California and Nevada through Arizona, New Mexico, and into northern Mexico. It is a natural presence in the rocky bajadas, desert washes, and scrublands of southern New Mexico — perfectly suited to the soils and climate of the Las Cruces region.

🦅 Larval Host & Ecosystem Role

• Sphinx Moths (Manduca spp.) — larvae feed on Lycium foliage; supports these spectacular pollinators
• Mockingbirds, Thrashers & Desert Birds — fruits are a critical late-summer and fall food source for resident and migratory birds
• Coyote & Desert Fox — fruits consumed and seeds dispersed across the landscape
• Native Bees — early spring blooms provide nectar when few other desert plants are flowering
• Dense thorny structure provides protected nesting habitat for small birds

🌿 Beneficial & Medicinal Uses

• Fruits are edible — small, red, mildly sweet; related to commercial goji berries (Lycium barbarum)
• Traditionally consumed fresh or dried by Indigenous desert peoples as a food and medicine
• Used in traditional medicine for eye health and as a general tonic — consistent with modern goji berry research
• Thorny branches historically used to create protective enclosures for small livestock

🌟 Plant Highlights

• 1-gallon plant start — well-rooted and ready to establish
• Deciduous to semi-evergreen thorny shrub, 3–6 feet tall and wide
• Small lavender-purple tubular flowers in early spring — one of the first desert bloomers
• Red berries ripen late summer through fall — wildlife magnet
• Extremely drought-tolerant once established
• Provides year-round structure; thorns deter browsing deer

🌵 Growing in the Desert Southwest?

• Full sun to partial shade — adaptable across exposures
• Thrives in rocky, sandy, or caliche-heavy soils — no amendments needed
• Water weekly for the first season; transition to deep monthly irrigation once established
• Excellent as a wildlife hedge, arroyo planting, or naturalized border shrub
• Allow room to spread — this shrub wants to be a presence in your landscape

A desert elder — thorny, generous, and deeply woven into the food web of the Southwest. Anderson's Wolfberry doesn't just survive the desert. It feeds it. 🌵