{"id":36608,"date":"2017-05-16T22:43:47","date_gmt":"2017-05-17T04:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/?p=36608"},"modified":"2017-05-16T22:43:47","modified_gmt":"2017-05-17T04:43:47","slug":"my-backyard-weeds-ground-cherry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/my-backyard-weeds-ground-cherry\/","title":{"rendered":"My Backyard Weeds – Ground Cherry"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is a weed that grows seed pods that look like little Chinese lanterns. It is commonly called ground cherry, but it is also known by everything from Mexican husk tomato to gooseberry. The Golden Guide titled Weeds<\/em><\/span><\/a> says there are about 80 species under it’s Latin genus of Physalis, but the Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants<\/em><\/a><\/span> (HPIP) says only 17 of these grow in the United States. HPIP also lists 25 different common names for this weed.<\/p>\n

\"Ground<\/a><\/p>\n

The little lanterns might be cute if it weren’t for other characteristics of this weed:<\/p>\n

The roots grow deep networks<\/em>
\n The stem breaks easily at the root<\/em>
\n The leaves and unripe berries are toxic<\/em><\/p>\n

The toxicity is the same as caused by potatoes, due to solanine glycoalkaloids. The symptoms are gastrointestinal and neurological, with the severity of them depending on the dose. This University of California, Davis\u00a0Review of Important Facts about Potato Glycoalkaloids<\/a><\/span> succinctly covers the important details. In summary from this site and HPIP, the effects are:<\/p>\n