Goji Berry is the common name for the fruit of the Lycium barbarum plant. Goji berries grow on extensive thorny vines in the sheltered valleys of the Himalayas in Tibet and in Mongolia (both are now regions of the Republic of China). Lycium is a deciduous woody perennial plant growing 1 to 3 meters high. Other common names for varieties of the Lycium plant are Matrimony Vine and Boxthorn and Wolfberry.
The Himalayan Goji berry (Lycium barbarum) should not be confused with Chinese Wolfberry, which is actually a similar fruit from a related Lycium species known as Lycium Chinese. All Lycium berries have reported medicinal properties, but the best goji berries are the Himalayan Goji berries of the Lycium barbarum variety grown in Tibet where the ancient soils have never been exposed to pesticides or pollution. Chinese Wolfberries (Lycium Chinese) are often grown in soils which have experienced heavy pesticide use for fifty years, and are often falsely sold as "Himalayan Goji berries".
The oval, deep red Goji berries are about the size of a grape, and taste like a cross between a cranberry and a cherry. The Goji berries are very tender and must be shaken from the vine rather than picked, for if touched by a human hand while fresh on the vine the fruit will oxidize, turn black and spoil. The fruits are preserved by slowly drying them in the shade.
Goji berries have been eaten locally in the region for centuries, and is celebrated in festivals. The Himalayan Goji fruit is nicknamed "the happy berry" because of the sense of well-being it is said to induce.
