Sunday, March 7, 2010

By robin robinson Key West Garden Club

The bright-red, lustrous fruits of the Carolina desert thorn (Lycium carolinianum) are reputed to taste like a sweet tomato. However, as some people, that sweetness can be deceiving. They also are reported to induce vomiting in children and pets.

That normally would be a bad thing except the berry is used medicinally to -- guess what -- induce vomiting. Thus it has its own personal tragic flaw; ironically, the thing that makes it a poison also makes it medicinally beneficial.

It has been used in folk medicine to treat everything from rheumatism to cancer.

Living with ambiguity is this plant's style. It has several names, Carolina desert thorn, Carolina wolfberry as well as Christmasberry. (Many other unrelated plants also are called Christmasberry.) It recently has been reclassified and currently, it comes from the nightshade or potato family, Solanaceae.

To top that, it is a hermaphrodite with small "perfect" flowers that are both male and female. They emerge profusely year-round on thin stems from the ends of the branches. The four petals usually are lavender with a yellow stamen, but flowers also can be blue, white or yellow.

Its leaves are succulent and thick, ending in a sharp spine. No veins are discernible on their thin, 2-inch, evergreen, oblanceolate-shaped leaves. They look like fat Christmas tree needles.

Carolina desert thorn thrives in deserts where there are low-lying areas that retain water because it needs a moderate amount of water to do well. All across the southern part of the U.S. it is found in ditches, ravines, marshes, beaches and swamps. But being ambiguous, it also likes to be in well-drained soil. It is both heat and cold tolerant and survives as far north as zone 7. This hearty plant is found all the way across the lower third of the country.

Nutrient-rich soil will allow it to grow to 15 feet, but when it is found in nutrient-poor soil along the beaches it grows to only 6 feet. It is bushy and spreads to 4 feet.

As it grows next to the beach, it is extremely salt tolerant, and does well even after extended flooding. It will grow in acidic or alkaline soil. Pests shun it. If there is a drought, it will drop leaves in order to retain moisture. When it rains again, new leaves sprout. It thrives in full sun, but can grow in partial shade.

Suckers come from its roots and will form a thicket around the mother plant. They can be removed if desired. Trim it to make a border or train it to become a small tree.

Its leaves and berries attract all kinds of wildlife. Raccoons and deer find it tasty. It is a special favorite of the migrating whooping crane and can make up as much as 50 percent of its diet. Plant it in a container and wait for the birds to arrive.

This plant is available from native plant nurseries for a nominal cost. It can be seen at the Key West Garden Club in the native section.

The Key West Garden Club welcomes volunteers to pull weeds, propagate and play in the sandy soil from 9 a.m. to noon Mondays.

Master gardener Robin Robinson was a columnist at the Chicago Daily News and syndicated by Princeton Features. This column is part of a series developed by the Key West Garden Club, http://www.keywestgardenclub.com. A compilation of her columns, "Plants of Paradise," is available at the Garden Club.