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Plants of the Omaha Indian Reservation
An Ethonobotanical Report
Physalis heterophylla Native American Names The Omaha and Ponca name was "pegatush" and the Pawnee called it "nikaktspak". They both translate as "Forehead to pop", in reference to children using the inflated husk to pop on their foreheads. The Lakota name is "tamni 'ohpi hu". Perhaps this is in reference to the fetusuke fruit inside the persistent husk. The scientific name is broken down into two, physalis meaning "plant with a bladdery husk" and the species name heteropylla meaning "having leaves in different forms. In reference to the variations in leaf margins Description The groundcherry is a forb plant that is native to our land. It has perennial herbs with erect, hairy stems, sometimes branched with pubescence similar to that found on the leaves. In the summer, bell or wheel-shaped flowers arise from the leaf axils. They're often solitary, occasionally in clusters of two to five. They're usually yellow to greenish-yellow, with a purple to brown center, although the whole flower is sometimes purple. The flower resembles a tomato a little bit, its a yellow flower, with a little bit of blue or violet. Location and Habitat Groundcherries grow in burned areas and fields, where most of the
time it is considered a nuisance. They can also be found thorughout
Nebraska on rangeland, prairies, woodlands, fields, roadsides, and
disturbed sites. On the rez we found groundcherry at the little baseball field site. Uses The ripe fruits of this species are edible. Native Americans made them into a sauce, and early pioneers used them in pies. Care had to be exercised in obtaining only the ripe fruits(the ones that are yellow). The unripe (green) fruits are poisonous to humans if consumed in sufficient quantity. Native Americans made a tea from the root of clammy groundcherry for stomach trouble and headache. They also inhaled the smoke of burning roots for headache. The Lakota ate 3-5 ripe fruits to stimulate their appetite. Use groundcherrries as fruits or vegetables. Mexicans boil and mash them, then add raw diced onions, chili, and cumin or coriander seeds. This makes a good sauce for Mexican burritos, tacos, and enchiladas. Ground cherries are great in relish recipes. You can also make tasty jams, pies, and puddings with them. Clammy goundcherry has little or no forage value for domestic
livestock. Its berries are a food source for sharptail grouse, prairie
chickens, and other wildlife. By Pilar Aldrich
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