Lycium shawii

Lycium shawii, desert thorn or Arabian boxthorn, is a thorny shrub adapted to desert environments, found across the Arabian Peninsula and in some places in Africa. It is a rigid bush with many branches and alternating spines of varying size along the branches and on their tips. It makes small whitish-pink or purple flowers from September until April, and red, pea-sized berries that are edible. It grows on gravel plains, in foothills and in wadis. The stems, leaves and berries are used in traditional medicine. In Yemen the pounded leaves have been used as a cure for eye ailments. The berries have a laxative effect and were used to relieve constipation and as a diuretic. Livestock eat the new growth.