Clammy ground cherry

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Clammy ground cherry anthers

Clammy ground cherry flower and calyx

Clammy ground cherry inflorescence

Clammy ground cherry calyx

Clammy ground cherry

Clammy ground cherry calyx

Clammy ground cherry leaves

Clammy ground cherry flower

Morphology

Stem

Erect, simple to branched, more or less glandular-hairy.

Leaves

Alternate, simple, stalked, ovate to rhombic, 1.5 to 4 inches long, 1.5 to 2.5 inches wide, thick, glandular-hairy; margins irregularly wavy-toothed to entire; tips pointed.

Inflorescence

Solitary flowers, in leaf axils.

Flower

Bell-shaped, 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, roughly as wide, on stalks to 3/5 inch long, droop at flowering; calyces 5-lobed, hairy; corollas shallowly 5-lobed, pale yellow; centers purple to brown; stamens 5, anthers yellow to purplish brown.

Fruit

Berries, spherical, to 1/2 inch in diameter, yellow, enclosed in inflated, papery calyx; seeds many, egg-shaped, pitted, pale yellow.

Ecology

Habitat

Waste areas, prairies, thickets, disturbed sites, gardens, and roadsides, most abundant in sandy soils.

Distribution

East 2/3 of Kansas.

Practical Information

Toxicity

The unripe green fruits are poisonous.

Uses

The ripe, yellow fruits are edible and were used widely for food by Indians of the Great Plains. Native Americans used the roots to dress wounds and to make a tea that was taken for headaches and stomach ailments.

Additional Notes