Aunt Molly’s Ground Cherry

We tried these in 2020 and they grew great for us and became a favorite volunteer treat. Make a great jam! A bushy plant, it grows 1 1/2 to 3′ tall and about as wide with heart-shaped, toothy and slightly velvety leaves, in 2021 we will be caging the plants. The small, bell-shaped whitish flowers fade into a loose, papery husk that surrounds the maturing marble-sized fruit that ripens from late summer into fall. The fruit literally drops to the ground when fully ripe, so it may self seed in the same spot next year if not harvested. The unripe green fruit and leaves are very high in solanine and other solanidine alkaloids, these are considered TOXIC so do NOT eat unripe fruit wait for them to turn yellow and/or hit the ground.