Taxon Report

Lycium parishii Gray

Parish's desert-thorn

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Taxon Summary

Lycium parishii, commonly known as Parish's desert-thorn, is a perennial shrub in the Solanaceae that is found in California and elsewhere. It occurs within Coastal scrub, and Sonoran desert scrub, growing at elevations from 135 to 1000 meters. Lycium parishii is ranked 2B.3, Plants Rare, Threatened, or Endangered in California, But More Common Elsewhere; Not very threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Lycium parishii Gray
Common Name:	Parish's desert-thorn
Family:	Solanaceae
Element Code:	PDSOL0G0D0
USDA Plants Symbol:	LYPA2
Synonyms/Other Names:

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	perennial shrub
Blooming Period: Mar-Apr	Mar-Apr
Elevation:	135-1000 (445-3280)
General Habitats:	Coastal scrub, Sonoran desert scrub
Microhabitat:
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	2B.3
Global Rank:	G4
State Rank:	S1
State List:	None
Fed List:	None
Other Status:	SB_CRES
CRPR Changes:	changed from 2.3 to 2B.3 on 2013-06-12

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB


Total Occurrences:	21
Element Occurrence Ranks:
Excellent (A)	0
Good (B)	1
Fair (C)	2
Poor (D)	8
None (X)	1
Unknown (U)	9

Location


California Endemic: False
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Imperial (IMP), San Bernardino (SBD)*, San Diego (SDG)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
Carrizo Mtn. (3211671), Carrizo Mtn. NE (3211681), Clark Lake (3311633), Coyote Wells (3211568), Devore (3411724), Fontana (3411714), In-ko-pah Gorge (3211661), Mount Signal (3211566), Plaster City (3211577), San Bernardino North (3411723)*, San Bernardino South (3411713), Seventeen Palms (3311631), Silverwood Lake (3411733), Sweeney Pass (3211672), Wileys Well (3311448), Yuha Basin (3211567)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


Threat List Total:	4
EOs with Threat Listed:	Total EOs	% of EOs
	11	52 %
Development	9	42%
ORV activity	2	9%
Recreational use (non-ORV)	1	4%
Foot traffic/trampling	1	4%

Notes



See Proc. Amer. Acad. 20: 305 (1885) for original description.
Threats:

Taxonomy:

Selected References

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 25 October 2025].