Family:  Nightshade (Solanacea)

Hardy to Zones 8 to 12 , otherwise grown as an annual, 200 days to maturity

Evergreen or herbaceous subshrub, Native to Africa, India, Middle East and Orient. Traditional usage (Ayurveda):  energy and sexual tonic. Plant prefers full sun, fast-draining, alkaline (pH 7.5 to 8.0) soil and dry-ish conditions.  Sweeten regular garden soil with ground limestone.  Space 1 foot apart–grows 2 to 3 feet tall, producing eventually the lantern-like pods enclosing the pea-sized fruits, green at first and becoming bright red as the inflated calyx dries and becomes transparent.  Pretty little winter cherries.  In colder zones, at the end of the first season, when the tops freeze back, dig the root, wash, cut up and dry the pieces for herbal use.  In the warmer zones, it is possible to harvest a larger root in the fall of the second year.

Potted plant, Certified Organically Grown