Branches are pale gray, slender, curved or pendulous, with thorns 0.5–2 centimetres (0.20–0.79 in) long.

[3] Lycium chinense leaves form on the shoot either solitary in an alternating arrangement or in bundles of 2 to 4.

[3] The bell-shaped or tubular calyx (eventually ruptured by the growing berry) splits halfway into short, triangular, densely ciliate lobes.

The plant has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine for treating various disorders,[citation needed] although there is no high-quality clinical evidence that consuming it has any effect on health or disease.

The fruit composition is similar to that of L. barbarum, with polysaccharides, carotenoids and flavonoids as main constituents.