Family: Solanaceae

Origin, Description & Uses
Lycium barbarum (goji berry, Chinese wolfberry) is a deciduous, thorny shrub native to temperate regions of Asia, particularly China, Mongolia, and the Tibetan Plateau. It typically grows 1–3 meters tall and produces slender branches with small green leaves, purple flowers, and bright red-orange berries. The plant is widely cultivated around the world for its edible fruits, which are commonly marketed as “goji berries” and valued in traditional Asian medicine and modern health foods for their high antioxidant content. It is also sometimes grown as a hedging plant or ornamental shrub due to its hardiness and ability to tolerate a range of soils and drought conditions.

Risks & Threats
Although Lycium barbarum is currently not known to be naturalized in the Hawaiian Islands, it does possess traits that are cause for concern, and which could detrimentally impact tropical island ecosystems. It produces abundant, bird-dispersed seeds and can tolerate harsh conditions, allowing it to establish and spread in disturbed habitats. In other regions, related species have shown invasive tendencies by forming dense thickets that can displace native vegetation, reduce habitat quality, and alter ecosystem structure. If allowed to naturalize in Hawaiʻi, it could compete with native plants in dry to mesic environments. For this reason, caution is warranted, and choosing a low-risk or native alternative is strongly recommended when suitable options are available.

High Risk Traits:

• Broad climate suitability
  
• Able to grow in high elevation, tropical climates
  
• Widely naturalized (but no evidence in Hawaiian Islands to date)
  
• A weedy shrub, and potential environmental weed in Australia
  
• Other Lycium species are invasive
  
• Thorny branches
  
• Toxic to animals
  
• Tolerates many soil types
  
• Reproduces by seeds and vegetatively by suckers
  
• Reaches maturity in 2 years
  
• Seeds dispersed by birds, and both intentionally and accidentally by human activities
  
• Tolerates frequent pruning and able to resprout after cutting

Low Risk Traits:

• May only be a threat to higher elevations of tropical Pacific islands
  
• Although weedy and invasive, valued in many locations for its edible fruit and medicinal uses
  
• Provides fodder for livestock (palatable despite reports of toxicity)
  
• Prefers full sun, potentially limiting spread into dense, intact forests
  
• Primarily outcrossing (although limited self-fertilization may be possible)
  
• Herbicides may provide effective control