From China to New Mexico: Assessing Goji Berry Qualities for Southwestern Medicinal Herb Production.

Used in China for thousands of years, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has strongly influenced interest in North America where people are seeking alternatives to “Western” medicine. Consumer interest in “buy local”, organic production, freshness, food safety, and phytochemically rich “superfoods” is driving interest in U.S. domestic cultivation of TCM herbs.  Many imported TCM herbs, including Goji Berry (Lycium barbarum and L. chinensis) are grown in similar environments and latitudes as found in New Mexico.

To examine feasibility of L. chinensis production in northwest, NM, we established test plots at the NMSU-ASC Farmington of L. chinensis.  Four Lycium species are native to New Mexico; L. palladium pallidum, L. torreyi, L. pallidum oligosperm, and L. berlanderi were included in this study because of their traditional use as food and medicine by people native to the southwestern United States.  The genetic relatedness and potential for native species to hybridize with Asian Lycium posed agro-ecological questions, including ability to become invasive.

In 2010-2011, we began mapping native L. palladium pallidum populations in and around the Farmington, NM area. Soil samples were taken at each sample point. From 2012 to present we expanded mapping to include a >750 km cross-state map to Las Cruces NM.   At the same time, we explored stem cuttings and layering to clonally propagate  L. pallidum pallidum for side-by-side comparisons with L. chinensis plots. Traditional propagation of native Lycium sp. has proved difficult.

Assessing the medicinal value of Lycium species has been based on the flavonoids rutin and quercetin in the plants leaves, fruit and flowers. Since 2013 we have been comparing Asian Lycium cultivated in Farmington with cross-state native Lycium sp. Wild populations of L. torreyi have elevated concentrations of rutin and may show potential for managed production.