Seasonal Wild Flowers

Japanese-lantern

Physalis alkekengi

Solanaceae

June to October

It is thinly scattered, mainly in the Southeast and East

Anglia.

See the BSBI distribution map for Japanese-lantern

It is a neophyte which has been cultivated in the UK

since the late 1540s and known in the wild since the

1650s.

It grows on rubbish tips and waste ground.

Japanese-lantern is a rhizomatous perennial herb grown for

its ornamental berry case.

The flowers are white, hairy and up to 3cm with prominent

white stamens.

The fruits are up to 3cm long and attractive at every stage,

turning from green to bright orange.

Leaves are up to 5cm and resemble those of Potato.

Japanese-lantern plant, Dorset

5 stamens, 1 style

Imature berry-case

Mature berry-case

Berry-case network

Release of berry

Leaves and stems