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Chinese Boxthorn

Lycium chinense

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in old home sites, roadsides, disturbed thickets. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Louisiana. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 41%

Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to wet

At a glance

Fruiting season
August to December

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

County records are not available.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA

Genus host records with ranges including LA · Lycium

  • Manduca quinquemaculatusFive-Spotted Hawkmoth, Tomato Hornworm
  • Manduca sextaCarolina Sphinx, Tomatoe Sphinx, Tobacco Hornworm
  • Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Lycium

  • Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Solanaceae
Fruit begins
August
Fruit ends
December

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Chinese Matrimony Vine

Conservation status

Louisiana rankSNA
Global rankGNR
LA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources