Lycium ruthenicum (Chinese: 黑果枸杞; pinyin: hei guo gou qi), is a flowering plant commonly known as Russian box thorn in the West.

[1] It is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family which can be found in Central Asia, southern part of Russia, throughout Northwest China,[2] Northern India and Pakistan.

[2] The fruits' seeds are brown coloured and are 1.5–2 millimetres (0.059–0.079 in) long.

[2] In India, it grows in Nubra Valley where it is used by native people to cure blindness in camels.

In Central Asia and Northwest China the species grows on elevation of 400–3,000 metres (1,300–9,800 ft)[1] in saline deserts, sands and roadsides.