42 Nebraskaland • January-February 2022
Above: Papery, infl ated husks
surround the berries of common
ground cherry, also called Chinese
lantern. The green, unripe berries
can be somewhat poisonous, but
the yellow, ripe berries are edible
and agreeably sweet with a hint of
tomato. Plains tribes ate the berries
raw and in sauces. This weedy
perennial is common in pastures,
roadsides and other disturbed sites
statewide.
Left: The fl ower heads of rigid
goldenrod, a member of the
aster family, contain many small,
individual fl owers, each producing a
hair-tufted seed. In this photo, most
of the heads have shed their seeds.
