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Macro Monday ~ Chinese Lantern Flower

Chinese lantern flowers and plants are attractive once matured, however, they can be quite invasive. I can’t recall ever planting them but they tend to grow wild in my garden and require a lot of cutting back and digging out,  especially when they pop up where you don’t want them.  On the other hand, they are quite attractive plants in the garden and maintain their color for a long time. At the end of summer I cut them and use them as fall or Halloween decorations.

The pods of the Chinese lantern plants are green in the beginning but turn orange in late summer to fall. The pods have a paper like texture as can be seen in the macro photo. Inside the pods is a berry with lots of seeds. The Chinese lantern plant is poisonous and should be kept away from children. They should not be confused with other plants like the tomatillo and cape gooseberry which are edible but have somewhat similar pods.

  • Do you grow Chinese Lantern plants?

    • Yes
    • No

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Written by Gloridaze

24 Comments

  1. The “lantern” looks adorable! Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, it looks like it’s a good plant to have to celebrate the festival. (Kids play lanterns during Mid-Autumn Festival.)

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