Introduction
First, there was the Great Wall of China… then Sun Tzu with his book, The Art of War… then there were the Shaolin monks and their kung fu… tofu and then, finally this raisin look-alike known for its benefits healtwise when consumed… yes, we’re talking about the Goji Berry!
But that wasn’t all… the Chinese of course, have left their mark as being humanity’s most intelligent race with an astonishing number of natural and philosophical discoveries through the ages until now!
But we’re here to talk about the Goji berry, so let’s get down to business!
Goji Berry – Origin & its Location
Your first impression of the Goji berry will leave you assuming that it’s actual name, the wolfberry is its commercial name, but it is quite the opposite! Now, since you’re delighted to have that cleared up, you’ll also be happy to know that this fruit comes from two very closely related species: Lycium Barbarum and L. Chinense, two species of boxthorn in the family Solanaceae. Other common vegetables that belong to this family include the potato, tomato, eggplant, deadly nightshade, chili pepper, and tobacco.
Useless fact #7586… you think? [Yawn]
Trust me, there’s more to come…
Very little is known about its original habitat of the wolfberry species (where they grow in the wild) and most scholars (isn’t this exciting?) say that they might have grown in southeastern Europe to southwest Asia as well as in other parts of the world but haven’t been found yet.
Yet it is a documented fact that only in China, however, is where the wolfberry is cultivated for its commercial value. [Read: Cash Crop] And that’s how they’ve amassing a fortune… these clever little folk who thrive on a staple diet of starch, and more starch.
And of course, while Jason Bourne took three novels (made into movies) to figure what his actual name was (fake passports et al), the Goji berry also has a long list of aliases such as the Chinese wolfberry, barbary matrimony vine, bocksdorn, Duke of Argyll's tea tree, Murali (in India) and red medlar. The names Tibetan goji and Himalayan goji are in common use in the health food market for products from this plant.
The Wolfberry species are deciduous woody perennial plants that grow up to a height of 1-3 metres. L. Chinense is grown in the south of China and tends to be somewhat shorter, while L. barbarum is grown in the north, primarily in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and is (yes, full marks for guessing)… somewhat taller.
Lastly, Solanaceae is the nightshade family that includes hundreds of plant foods like potato, tomato, eggplant, wolfberry, peppers (paprika), crop commodities (tobacco), and flowers (petunia) with poisonous members such as the Belladonna. And no, it has nothing to do with that ample-chested French porn star named belladonna as well, thanks to a dearth of original-sounding porn names in the industry.
In Closing
Much like Tofu, the Goji berry has become popular in the western world lately as a superfood, due to its numerous health benefits.
Who cares if the Chinese get rich or die trying? Who cares if they rule the world one day? But more pertinently, who cares if I’m just being paranoid here?
As long as you know that the goji berry is healthy for you… that is really all you need to know for now!
So, do you have any experiences in eating the goji berry? If so, share them with us.
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