I photographed it in Lybia, Marsa El Brega, in January, 2014. This is a small bush and regularly found close to the seashore. The berries tastes sweet-salty whne is little away from sea rather sweat but somehow strange (hope not posining?). Anybody knows its name?
I think it is also a Licyum species but probably not identifical which I displayes first becasue the first (up) strictly restricted to salty seashore and this Lycium (?) lives little far from sea in semi desert area. When the first has red berries, this has violet flowers.
Thanks Ibrahim, Good to know that you are not familiar with the flora of Lybia, thank you so much!
Dear Attila,
I hope it is helpful to try the Lycium key in Flore de la Tunisie: http://bibdigital.rjb.csic.es/ing/Libro.php?Libro=3760&Pagina=176
Lycium intricatum looks similar to your first plant. However, according to Euro+Med Plantbase (http://ww2.bgbm.org/EuroPlusMed/PTaxonDetail.asp?NameId=100554&PTRefFk=7100000 ) it is not recorded for Libya. Flore de la Tunisie tells, that L. intricatum sometimes is cultivated. Maybe this is an explanation.
If you want to try Nouvelle flore d'Algérie, it can be downloaded from the following page: http://www.tela-botanica.org/page:ouvrages_flore The same four species as in Flore de la Tunisie are treated.
From the species, which additionally are listed for Libya by Euro+Med Plantbase, maybe Lycium shawii comes into question.
This is not Lycium shawii at all. This is Nitraria retusa of Zygophyllaceae family, usually grows in saline habitats not far away from sea shores. It is a Sahrao-Arabian species, common in North Africa, NW Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Palastine
Thank you so much. And please check my other photos on different plants I photographed in Lybia.
The first set of photographs belongs to Nitraria retusa. The second set belongs to genus Lycium, probably L. shawii.
Thank you so much and I would be happy, if you could check this as well :)
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Could_somebody_identify_this_flower
I can confirm the determination and you, I hope, that the fruits are edible, refreshing and tasty
The fruits was very interesting. Half sweet and half salty. not refreshing at all. I think salty because of the seashore-sand area where they grow.
The plant is Nitraria retusa (Forssk) Asch. of Nitrariaceae family. It is a salt tolerant desert shrub native to North Africa.
Nitraria retusa, one of the best plants trapping mobile sand, with a red seeds appears in beginning of summer time.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Biological Science
- Biota
- Eukaryota
- Viridiplantae
- Streptophyta
- Plants