''Alkekengi officinarum'', the bladder cherry, Chinese lantern, Japanese-lantern, strawberry groundcherry, winter cherry, alchechengi berry, or Klabuster cherry is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the nightshade

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Solanaceae. It is a close relative of the new world ''

Calliphysalis carpenteri ''Calliphysalis'' is a monotypic genus of perennial plants in the Physaleae tribe of the nightshade family Solanaceae.Per Axel Rydberg. 1896. The North American species of ''Physalis'' and related genera. '' Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club'' ...

'' (Carpenter's groundcherry) and a somewhat more distant relative to the members of the ''

Physalis ''Physalis'' (, , , , from 'bladder') is a genus of approximately 75 to 90 flowering plants in the Solanum, nightshade family (Solanaceae), which are native to the Americas and Australasia. At least 46 species are endemism, endemic to Mexico. ...

'' genus. This species is

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to the regions covering

Southern Europe Southern Europe is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

and

Northeast Asia Northeast Asia or Northeastern Asia is a geographical Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia. Its northeastern landmass and islands are bounded by the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean. The term Northeast Asia was popularized during the 1930s by Ame ...

Description

It is easily identifiable by the large, bright orange to red papery calyx covering over its fruit, which resembles

paper lantern A paper lantern is a lantern made of thin, brightly colored paper. Paper lanterns come in various shapes and sizes, as well as various methods of construction. In their simplest form, they are simply a paper bag with a candle placed inside, alt ...

s. It is a

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...

growing to tall, with spirally arranged

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

long and broad. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are white, with a five-lobed corolla across, with an inflated basal calyx which matures into the papery orange fruit covering, long and broad. And it has one variety, ''Alkekengi officinarum'' var. ''franchetii''. Research has shown ''

'' (formerly classified as ''Physalis carpenteri'') to be among the most closely related species to ''Physalis alkekengi''.

Cultivation

It is a popular

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

, widely cultivated in temperate regions of the world, and very hardy to below . It can be invasive with its wide-spreading

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

system sending up new shoots some distance from where it was originally planted. In various places around the world, it has escaped from cultivation. In the United Kingdom it has been given the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

History

''Physalis alkekengi'' has been used for a wide range of purposes in traditional medicine for around two millennia. It was used to heal fever, induce mental serenity, and assist in childbirth, according to ancient Chinese books including the Erya and Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing. Its usage in reducing heat, boosting energy, and aiding in diuresis was also mentioned in Li Shizhen's Ming dynasty Compendium of Materia Medica. The plant's juice was thought to be useful in treating jaundice. This traditional Chinese medicine's lengthy historical use illustrates the wide range of therapeutic uses. The English herbalist

John Gerard John Gerard (also John Gerarde, 1545–1612) was an English herbalist with a large garden in Holborn, now part of London. His 1,484-page illustrated ''Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes'', first published in 1597, became a popular garde ...

describes a plant known as ''red winter cherries'' in his late 16th-century herbal, which may refers to ''Alkekengi officinarum''. He says that the plant is also called ''red nightshade'' and ''alkakengie'' in English. It is kept in gardens and the berries are used as medicine.

Traditional uses

The dried fruit is called the golden flower in the

Unani Unani or Yunani medicine (Urdu: ''tibb yūnānī'') is Perso-Arabic traditional medicine as practiced in Muslim culture in South Asia and modern day Central Asia. Unani medicine is pseudoscientific. The term '' Yūnānī'' means 'Greek', ref ...

system of medicine, and used as a diuretic, antiseptic, liver corrective, and sedative. In

Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence of effectiveness or ...

, ''Alkekengi'' is used to treat such conditions as abscesses, coughs, fevers, and sore throat. The

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

Dacian language Dacian () is an extinct language generally believed to be a member of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that was spoken in the ancient region of Dacia. The Dacian language is poorly documented. Unlike Phrygian languag ...

has left few traces, but in by

Pedanius Dioscorides Pedanius Dioscorides (, ; 40–90 AD), "the father of pharmacognosy", was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of (in the original , , both meaning "On Medical Material") , a 5-volume Greek encyclopedic pharmacopeia on he ...

, a plant called () is discussed, which was called ''kykolis'' (or ''cycolis'') by the Dacians. Some have considered this plant to be ''Alkekengi officinarum'', but the name more likely refers to ashwagandha (''Withania somnifera'').

Chemical constituents

''Alkekengi officinarum'' contains a wide variety of physalins. When isolated from the plant, these have

antibacterial An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention ...

and leishmanicidal activities ''

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', or ''in the glass'') Research, studies are performed with Cell (biology), cells or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in ...

''. It also contains caffeic acid ethyl ester, 25,27-dehydro-physalin L, physalin D, and cuneataside E. More than 530 different chemicals, including steroids, flavonoids, alkaloids, phenylpropanoids, sucrose esters, piperazines, volatile oils, polysaccharides, amino acids, and trace elements, are present in ''Physalis alkekengi''.

Cultural significance

In Japan, its bright and lantern-like fruiting calyces form a traditional part of the

Bon Festival or just is a fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ance ...

as offerings intended to help guide the souls of the dead. A market devoted to it – ''hōzuki-ichi'' – is held every year on 9–10 July near the ancient Buddhist temple of

Sensō-ji , is an ancient Buddhist temple in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. It is Tokyo's oldest-established temple, and one of its most significant. It is dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. Structures in the temple complex include the main hall, ...

Asakusa is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known for Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as . History The development of Asaku ...

Fossil record

''Alkekengi'' seed

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

s are known from

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

of Germany. Pollen grains of ''Alkekengi officinarum'' have been found in early

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

sediments in

Ludham Ludham is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, in the Norfolk Broads, at the end of a dyke leading to Womack Water and flowing into the River Thurne. It lies to the East of Ludham Bridge, which ...

east of

Wroxham Wroxham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The civil parish of Wroxham has an area of 6.21 square kilometres, and in 2001, had a population of 1,532 in 666 households. A reduced population of 1,502 in 653 household ...

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

Taxonomic history

''Alkekengi officinarum'' was previously included in the genus ''

'' until molecular and genetic evidence placed it as the type species of a new genus.

References

External links

Alkekengi officinarum Moench

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...

. {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2018 Garden plants Medicinal plants Plants described in 1753 Physaleae Monotypic Solanaceae genera Taxa named by Conrad Moench