PRELIMINARY SURVEY FOR MAPPING THE DISTRIBUTION OF SPONTANEOUS GOJI BERRY SHRUBS IN ROMANIA.

So far in Romania, based on literature, online resources, and personal reports, the solanaceous shrubs of Lycium barbarum L. (syn. L. halimifolium Mill.) were recorded in Bucharest and 37 counties, from a total of 41. During the field trips between July 2021 and February 2022, made by the authors and researchers in the frame of the ProtectGoji citizen science-based project, new data about the locations where the wild goji berry bushes are encountered were gathered and some of these records have already been introduced and validated in the iNaturalist database. The present study records of spontaneous goji berry plants included Bucharest and 18 counties, as follows: Arad, Brăila, Brașov, Buzău, Caraș-Severin, Călărași, Cluj, Constanța, Galați, Giurgiu, Ialomița, Iași, Ilfov, Prahova, Olt, Teleorman, Tulcea and Vrancea. Of these, Bucharest and 14 counties (Arad, Brașov, Buzău, Caraș-Severin, Călărași, Cluj, Constanța, Galați, Giurgiu, Iași, Ilfov, Olt, Tulcea and Vrancea) were previously mentioned in the dedicated literature or online databases, whilst Ialomița, Brăila, Prahova and Teleorman represent new occurrences for wild goji distribution. To the best of author's knowledge, there are still no records or published data concerning distribution of wild Lycium shrubs in Covasna, Dâmbovița, Hunedoara and Sălaj, although some goji plantations have been reported in some of these counties. The aim of this survey was to design a preliminary map of distribution for wild Lycium spp. in Romania, considering the increasing importance in terms of ornamental, nutritional and therapeutic value, but also for plant protection reasons, to prevent the spread of new alien species in the commercial fields via the reservoirs of wild goji berry plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]