Approximately 110 species belong to the Lycium Genus, and their specimens may be found on both hemispheres. Boxthorns are trees and shrubs that like warmth and tolerate dry weather, they are widespread and at times grow as weed. Lycium halimifolium is their Central European counterpart, which brings forth its violet coloured flowers on sunny, warm slopes. Its short shoots frequently develop into thorns. There is an old, tree-sized specimen near the (Calvinist) Great Church (Nagytemplom) of Debrecen and there is also a story related to this plant that concerns the denomination of Calvinism. Lycium horrida, native to South Africa, is its relative; protective hedges are grown from the dense shrubs of this plant, which are armed with strong thorns. L. barbarum has been known in the Carpathian basin since the Middle Ages, where it was planted as a hedge or fence. The shoots of this plant are lignescent and thorny. Leaves are lanceolate, flowers are small, pale purple, and pentamerous. Fruits are oblong, 1.5-2.0 cm long berries that ripen to red. This plant contains poisonous alkaloids. Today this species, introduced from the Mediterranean, is widespread throughout Hungary, and it is frequently to be seen along roads and railway embankments. It is an important food plant of the green peach aphid, which is responsible for spreading numerous plant viruses and a subspecies of which lays its overwintering eggs on boxthorn. Fully developed louses may also overwinter on boxthorn bushes in a state of dormancy when the winter is mild, thus being able to form large colonies even before peaches bloom, which is why monitoring these plants is especially important near fruit orchards and vegetable gardens.

Chinese folk medicine has been using the fruits of Lycium chinense for a long time because of their carotenoids having hepatoprotective and cytoprotective, anticarcinogenic, free radical neutralizing, and antioxidant effects. The active ingredients of L. barbarum have also been studied in Hungary and it has been shown that the composition of active ingredients in the fruits of boxthorn is very similar to that of Chinese boxthorn, which is commonly known as goji berries.

Thanks to their high zeaxantin content, the fruits of this plant have free radical neutralizing and immune system stimulating effects.

Fruits

- Glycoconjugates and glycans
- Scopoletin
- Polysaccharides
- Lyciumide (dopamine derivative)
- Carotenoids (zeaxantin, fisaline, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, mutatoxanthin, β-citraurin, C25-apocarotenals)

Leaves

- Glycoalkaloids having sterane structures (hyoscyamine)
- Vitamin C