A highly popular ornamental plant, also known as Winter Cherry, or Chinese Lantern. The fruit, the only edible part of the otherwise toxic plant, is a cherry-like berry and grows inside a bright orange to red-orange papery lantern-shaped husk. A fast-growing hardy perennial shrub, it will grow to a maximum of 2 feet. Pendant cream flowers appear in summer and are pollinated by bees. Blooms, or ‘lanterns’ appear late summer, early fall. Can be grown in most types of well-drained soil, in partial to full sun. It has a long history of medicinal herbal use, particularly in the treatment of kidney and bladder disorders.