Lycium australe, the Australian boxthorn, is a native Australian plant with large sharp woody spines, small leaves and very small berries. It is closely related to Lycium ferocissimum (African boxthorn), which is listed as an invasive weed in Australia, New Zealand and Cyprus.
It is possible to differentiate between these two species using the following features: +L. ferocissimum L. australe Leaf length (mm)6 - 403 - 25Leaf width (mm)2 - 201.5 - 3Shape of berriesRoundOvoidWidth of berries (mm)5 - 102 - 5Seeds per berry30 - 705 - 20 Distribution Lycium australe is endemic to the mainland of Australia, and is found in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
Habitat This plant grows in arid and semi-arid areas, in subsaline soils at the edges of claypans and salt lakes. Taxonomy and naming The plant was first described by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1859, and its specific epithet, australe, comes from the Latin adjective, australis, -is, -e, ("south/southern"), thus describing the plant as coming from the southern hemisphere. It has no synonyms.
References
External links Lycium australe occurrence data from the Australasian Virtual Herbarium GBIF:Lycium australe occurrence data & images