As someone with some degree of botanical knowledge, I found the Goji information describing the Goji berry as being Lycium Eleagnus pungens or Lycium Eleagnus barbarum incorrect. Elaeagnus (the correct spelling, rather than “Eleagnus”) is an entirely different genus from Lycium. In fact there is no Lycium with those Latin epithets.
Elaeagnus pungens is a commonly grown ornamental plant in the U.S. Here is a web site that has good photos of it: http://www.salisbury.edu/arboretum/Elaeagn/ElPu/ElPuHM.html
Elaegnus pungens is a an evergreen shrub native to China and Japan.
Varieties, forms, or cultivars that have unique characteristics are common among many plants. They occur in different geographical regions or through selection by humans. The Tibetan Lycium used in Tibetan medicine for centuries and known as ‘Goji’ should be classified as Lycium Tibeticum however its Latin epithet is Chinensis, not barbarum.
Dr. Tenzin Dorje,
Tanaduk Botanical Research Institute of Tibetan Medicine
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