BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Lycium andersonii | Anderson Wolfberry 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Anderson wolfberry is a native desert shrub [28].  It is spiny, rounded,
and much branched, obtaining a height of 1 to 9 feet (0.30-2.7 m)
[12,16,17,18,25,30,33].  Twigs are light barked [25]; spines are
numerous and slender, 0.20 to 0.80 inch (5-20 mm) long [25,30,33];
leaves are flattened, but thick and fleshy, 0.09 to 0.66 inch (3-17 mm)
long [16,17,30,33].  This species is drought deciduous, meaning it loses
foliage in response to low moisture availability [31].

Anderson wolfberry roots are tough and fiberous [29].  The root system
is relatively extensive in comparison with aerial portions [29,31],
often extending 25 to 30 feet (7.6-9.1 m) from the plant [29].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Flowers and Fruits:  The perfect flowers of Anderson wolfberry are
pollinated by birds such as black-chinned hummingbirds.  The fleshy red
berries of this plant contain many seeds [19,24].  After ingestion,
seeds are disseminated by small mammals and birds in droppings [19,24].

Seed germination:  Seeds generally germinate late in the year following
summer rains.  In a Nevada test site study, a large number of Anderson
wolfberry seeds germinated in the late summer of 1967 and early spring
1968 presumably as a result of 1967 summer rains [31].  By germinating
late in the year, the seedlings have the advantage of both winter and
spring rains [31].

Vegetative reproduction:  Root sprouting is another form of regeneration
[31,32].  Adventitous shoots form readily on broken roots [31].  Shoots
will actually form on uninjured roots that have been exposed to the air
[31].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Anderson wolfberry commonly grows on sandy or gravelly washes, sandy or
alkali flats, mesas and slopes generally from 1,500 to 6,000 feet
(457-1,829 m) in elevation [16,30].  This species exhibits some degree
of facultative adaptation for salt tolerance and has been known to occur
on poorly drained soils with high alkalinity and/or salinity [10,23].
Anderson wolfberry also occurs on highly calcareous, well-developed
desert pavement with a strongly cemented caliche layer [23].  Soil pH of
some sites where this species occurs ranges from 8.0 to 8.3 [21].
Growth of Anderson wolfberry appears to be independent of soil
temperature but not of soil pH [33].  When cuttings were grown for 90
days in loam soil, accidification of the soil resulted in decreased dry
weight and calcium carbonate [33].

Anderson wolfberry is commonly found associated with the following
species:  ceosotebush (Larrea tridentata), foothill "yellow" paloverde
(Cercidium microphyllum), white bursage (Ambrosia dumosa), smoke tree
(Dalia spinosa), rough ephedera (Ephedra nevadensis), hop-sage (Grayia
spinosa), pale wolfberry (Lycium pallidum), blackbush (Coleogyne
ramossissima), burrobush (Hymenoclea monogyra), Joshua tree (Yucca
brevifolia) [5,10,14,28,33].
 
Some of these species form discrete clumps of vegetation separated by
bare areas of desert pavement.  Size and spacing is irregular, and as
many as 10 different species may aggregate with interlocking foliage
[33].


Anderson wolfberry typically occurs on hot, dry sites. It often occurs
in areas with only 5 to 6.5 inches (128-162 mm) annual precipitation
[1].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Anderson wolfberry is a slow-growing shrub which appearsf to a
stress-tolerant competitor and is therefore found in many older seral
communities.  This species eventually dominates over other colonizing
species but gradually gives way to the stress tolerators of the climax
communities [34].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Seasonal development of Anderson wolfberry varies with seasonal climatic
conditions [26,33].  In the western United States, flowering starts in
April to June, in the southwestern United States in January to May, and
in California flowering occurs from November to April [26].  Studies in
the Lower Colorado River Valley, Nevada, showed that leaf development
occurs in late February to March followed by flowering in mid-March to
April and fruiting in April and May [9].

The plant generally becomes dormant in late May through January
depending on the amount of available moisture [9,29].  Leaf fall was
found to coincide with high temperatures and depletion of soil moisture
[33].  A study in the Rock Valley, Nevada, found that high winter
temperatures delayed leafing [29].  New leaves normally occur on
established stems even in dry years, but new shoots generally are
produced only in relatively moist growing seasons [33].

Related categories for Species: Lycium andersonii | Anderson Wolfberry