Pale Wolfberry
Lycium pallidum
A desert shrub whose red berries were an important food for the Navajo, Hopi and other Southwestern peoples.
Safety at a glance
- PregnancyNothing recorded
- BreastfeedingNothing recorded
- MedicinesNothing recorded
- Who should avoid itNothing recorded
- AllergiesNothing recorded
- ToxicityNothing recorded
Tap a box to read the safety notes below. “Nothing recorded” means our sources don't cover it, not that it's safe.
What is Pale Wolfberry?
- Plant family
- Solanaceae, the nightshade family
- Parts used
- The berries and root
- Where it grows
- The southwestern United States and northern Mexico
- Genus
- Lycium
- Species
- pallidum
Also called
Wolfberry
Traditionally used for
- Food (traditional)
Traditionally described as
- Edible berries
Traditions that use it
- Native American Ethnobotany
Berries eaten by the Navajo, Hopi, Havasupai, Acoma and Pueblo peoples.
What does the research say?
Traditional use
These are traditional uses, not proven treatments.
The berries were an important food. The Navajo, Hopi, Havasupai, Acoma, Laguna and Jemez ate them fresh, dried them for winter, cooked them into syrup, jam, soup and stew, and mashed them into drinks. The Navajo put the ground root into cavities for toothache.[1]Traditional text
On the Colorado Plateau, pale wolfberry grows at ancient Puebloan sites more than elsewhere, a sign it was among the plants people relied on.[2]Study
In short
No lab, human or safety studies were found.
Sources
- [1] Native American Ethnobotany Database: Lycium pallidum — Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT); compiled by Daniel E. MoermanTraditional text
- [2] Plant species richness at archaeological sites suggests ecological legacy of Indigenous subsistence on the Colorado Plateau · DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2025047118Peer-reviewed study
This information is educational and traditional in nature, and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Unfamiliar word? See what these words mean.