winter cherry

American  

noun

1. Also called Chinese lantern plant.  a Eurasian ground cherry, Physalis alkekengi, of the nightshade family, bearing fruit enclosed in a showy, orange-red, inflated calyx.

2. the red, berrylike fruit of this plant.

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winter cherry British  

noun

1. a Eurasian solanaceous plant, Physalis alkekengi, cultivated for its ornamental inflated papery orange-red calyx

2. the calyx of this plant

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Etymology

Origin of winter cherry

First recorded in 1540–50

Example Sentences

The undergrowth was bright with the vivid green foliage and brilliant scarlet berries of the winter cherry.

From Project Gutenberg

It is a huge monster, extending over eight valleys and eight hills, its eyes red like winter cherries, its belly bloody and inflamed, and its back overgrown with moss and conifers.

From Project Gutenberg

The company then rowed away for Cartagena, eating their "mellions and winter cherries" with a good appetite.

From Project Gutenberg

In front of her lay the island where grew the Cape gooseberries, or winter cherries as they are sometimes called, which she came to seek.

From Project Gutenberg