Nitrariaceae FAMILY

Nitraria tangutorum

Edibility

3/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitShrub

Growth—

Nitraria species generally prefer a light to medium well-drained soil in an open sunny position. Plants are very salt tolerant and usually grow well on saline soils^[1]. Established plants are very drought resistant^[2]. The fruit of Nitraria tangutorum, known as ‘desert cherry’, has a high potential economic value as a source of edible berries and has been traditionally used as healthy food. Local people often use the fruits to make fruit wine and to extract pigments as natural food colourings^[3].

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Nitraria+tangutorum>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

[1]Wild Food Plants of Australia. — Low. T. · Angus and Robertson. · 1989 · ISBN 0-207-14383-8 ↩︎Well presented, clear information and good photographs. An interesting read for the casual reader as well as the enthusiast
[2]Flora of New South Wales — http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/floraonline.htm ↩︎An on-line resource giving a brief botanical description of all the native plants of New South Wales, their habitat and range, together with diagrams and photographs of the plants.
[3]Antioxidation and anti-inflammatory actions of the extract of Nitraria Tangutorum Bobr. fruits reduce the severity o — Q. Zou et al. · 2022 · https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2022.105005 · ISBN 1756-4646 ↩︎
[4]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
[5]Preceding Phenological Events Rather than Climate Drive the Variations in Fruiting Phenology in the Desert Shrub Nit — Bao F. et al · 2022 · https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11121578 ↩︎