Lycium fremontii

 Lycium fremontii (Fremont desert thorn) ( )

Solanaceae

  • Fremont desert thorn is found on flats and alkaline soils of the Salton Sea basin and Colorado River corridor. It has elongate floral tubes, violet flower color, and finely pubescent leaves. "California Desert Plants, Philip W Rundel, Robert J Gustafson, Michael E Kauffmann."
  • Face paint materials: For orange color, the fruit is used. Toy bows were made from the flexible stems of shrubs such as Lycium fremontii. This desert wolfberry is widespread in the lowlands, and reaches maximum development on the floodplains of major arroyos in the northern part of the Seri region. It occurs on Tiburon Island but it is not as abundant there as on the mainland. The corolla is lavender and the flowers are both long pedicelled and the largest of the several wolfberries. Facepaint: during the cooking of the berries an orange-red foam develops. This foam was scraped off, placed in a large clamshell, and mixed with honey. when dry and sticky, the mixture was used as facepaint. Food: of all the various wolfberries, the fruit of this species was the most extensively used. It was a favorite food, and in the 1980s women and girls continued to harvest substantial quantities of it. The berries were picked by hand, collected in buckets or cans, and brought back to the camp or village. The fruit was also casually picked and eaten fresh in the desert. The fruit was usually mashed in the hands and thoroughly mixed. A bit of sugar or honey was generally added, and the mixture cooked in water for about one-half hour. There is considerable variation in the tartness or sweetness of the fruit. Sugar or honey was not added to berries which were sufficiently sweet. Some women added a bit of wheat flour to the berries, while others added barrel cactus flowers. It was said that if one ate too much of this mixture it could cause a temporary paralysis of the limbs. The berries commonly harbor an insect larva. Music: the violin bow was sometimes made from this shrub. Toys: boys used the slender sticks to fashion toy arrows. Weapons: the foreshaft of the arrow was often made of this wood. "People of the Desert and Sea, Ethnobotany of the Seri Indians. Richard Stephen Felger and Mary Becky Moser".

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