Lycium ferocissimum flower

The flowers of Lycium ferocissimum grow solitary or in pairs from leaf axils. The flowers are bell-shaped, white or mauve; in this case a bit of both, the petal lobes being white, the throat bluish purple. The inside of the flower cup in picture is greenish yellow. The flower tube is short, about 6 mm in length and mostly covered on the outside by the pointed green sepals. The diameter of a flower is 1,2 cm. The anthers protrude in the specimen shown, but this is not always the case. Flowers fade to white, later brown.

The species normally flowers in winter and spring, but will do so after rain in any season. This plant was seen in August near Saldanha (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; Coates Palgrave, 2002).