Chinese Lanterns (25 seeds)

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Can you eat the Fruits of these? Are they like Ground Cherrys? I'm watching.

Dec 4th, 2013 at 10:14:26 PM PST by

They are closely related to Ground Cherries. Another name for it is Winter Cherries. I've heard mixed responses on their edible status and just searched again. Here's what I found:

The dead ripe fruit (not the lantern) is edible but doesn't taste very good--it is sour on account of having more vitamin C than lemons. The rest of the plant, especially the leaves and unripe berries, is poisonous and can even be fatal if eaten, containing solanine, the same stuff that makes green potatoes and tomato leaves poisonous. In spite of this, in Traditional Chinese Medicine, the calyx and fruits are used against toxic heat, for sore throats, and for thick coughs; they are also pounded into a paste that is spread on eczema. A homeopathic remedy made from the fruit is used in kidney and bladder disease. In Europe, the ripe berries are macerated in wine or vodka to make an extract that is taken for bladder infections. Western allopathic medicine is investigating the anti-tumor capabilities of this plant.

So yeah if fully ripe but not recommended due to taste and the risk involved with misjudging ripeness.

Dec 5th, 2013 at 12:24:45 PM PST by

I think it is cool does it have to have full or partial sun.

Dec 6th, 2013 at 1:47:33 PM PST by

It can be planted in either full sun or partial shade. It is best to plant them on the sunniest side of your home but in an area that isn’t exposed to full sun for more than 8 hours a day.

Dec 6th, 2013 at 2:03:38 PM PST by

"Thank-You!" We have wild ground cherrys on the back roads here in Oklahoma, and they look similar to those. We eat them all the time in the Fall, that's when they are ripe. Guess you got to wait till they turn to eat them. :)

Dec 7th, 2013 at 12:19:05 PM PST by

What part of Oklahoma do they grow wild? I'm in Texas just a half mile from the border, and we don't have them here.

Dec 7th, 2013 at 12:26:38 PM PST by

I meant a half hour.

Dec 7th, 2013 at 12:27:35 PM PST by

N.E. corner of Oklahoma, near Joplin. We are from Miami, Okla, land of the Nine Tribes, and there is a casino on every corner.

Dec 7th, 2013 at 4:32:58 PM PST by

Why we are Neighbors!

Dec 7th, 2013 at 4:34:39 PM PST by

No casinos in Texas yet. Close enough that someone who used to live in my house worked in one.... The guy who owns the Golden Nugget chain did a significant amount to rebuild Galveston after the hurricane (and its booming more than I've known my whole life) has been lobbying to legalize it for Galveston.

Dec 7th, 2013 at 4:42:51 PM PST by

Yes these ground cherry s we have has a paler paper husk, and you can tell the ripe ones from the fruits that are not. They grow wild out in the country all in the ditches along the road, we go for a walk down the back dirt road picking us a couple to pop in our mouths an eat them. We have a verity pack to eat on up there, persimmons, blackberrys, pecans, fish, deer, ect.

Dec 7th, 2013 at 4:47:09 PM PST by

FREE: Chinese Lanterns (25 seeds)