Prairie Sportsman

(bright music) (gentle guitar music) - We are sitting next to a plant that's actually really easy to just keep walking by because it does sit so low to the ground, probably how it gets its common name, but the ground cherry plant, it is a native plant and it usually grows ditches, roadsides, along rivers.

You're gonna find the ground cherry plant.

Now this plant becomes ripe like late October, early November.

The plant is toxic with the exception of the fruit, go for the husks.

the little lantern-like husks that are more white, they start out a very deep dark green.

They'll end up kind of white and papery and inside you'll see it's a yellow fruit.

Interestingly, texturally, it's kind of like a cherry tomato meets a grape, and, again, can be used in a variety of ways.

Now I'm gonna show you 'cause you want it to be yellow and you can see this one is a yellowing shade and even more yellow than this would be preferable, but this would be the one to take.

So, if it's green, let it be.

If it's turning yellow, you're good to go.

(gentle guitar music continues)