Learn the Herbs: Halloween Edition

Physalis

An unusual plant that resembles a paper lantern. At first, its orange berry (in some species of this plant, the berry is edible and tastes like a tomato) is surrounded by an orange shell, which then disappears. All that remains is a “skeleton" of veins. It looks beautiful and a little bit spooky.

Witch Hazel

This plant is interesting not only for its name. It blooms in autumn, and the flowers are composed of thin yellow wriggling petals. But watch out for the pods of this plant. When the seeds inside are ripe, the pod bursts and the seeds fly out. Kaboom!

Actaea

A strange plant whose berries resemble doll's eyes. Imagine that you’re walking through a forest and a thousand small eyes are watching you from all directions. Pretty creepy, right? In addition to the frightening appearance, this plant is also terribly poisonous, which is why most animals avoid it. But birds are not afraid to eat it, thereby helping the plant spread to new territories.