European Winter Cherry (Chinese Lantern)

This hardy species is native from southern Europe to Northern Asia and Japan, and was documented in European gardens as early as 1548. It is a member of the Solanaceae (Tomato) family, and is also known as Japanese Lantern, Bladder Cherry, Strawberry Tomato, and Winter Cherry. In 1807, Thomas Jefferson listed in his Garden Book: “Physalis Alkekengi – European winter cherry,” and he devoted an entire oval flower bed to this curious species. Jefferson’s source may have been Philadelphia nurseryman Bernard McMahon, who included “Physalis Alkekengi-European Winter-Cherry” in his book The American Gardener’s Calendar, 1806. Tiny, bell-shaped, white flowers in spring develop into showy, orange-red, lantern-like pods that form around the fruit in late summer. The showy pods are popular in dried flower arrangements.

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