This short deciduous tree belongs to the Solanaceae family, and has thorns much like those on trifoliate orange trees. Having flexible branches like the koriyanagi willow, they are called "kuko" (wolfberries) in Japan. In fact, kuko (枸杞) uses two characters, one for trifoliate orange (枸) and another for koriyanagi willow (杞). The tree bears bright red oval fruit about 1 centimeter long, and that is known as "kukoshi" in Japan when dried. It is restored in hot water, water or sake and used in a variety of dishes.