Dear Margaret,
I wouldn't be surprised if "orange bush" is another common name of the Jerusalem Cherry, or the Madeira Winter Cherry (_Solanum pseudocapsicum L._). This Peruvian plant is hardy into USDA Zone 8, which covers much of South Carolina. It grows about knee high, or a little taller under the best growing conditions, and forms colonies. Its leaves are dark green, veined, with a long, narrow oval shape. Jerusalem Cherry fruits heavily with orange, ball-shaped decorative fruits that ripen in late fall or early winter. You will see this plant sold in greenhouses, garden centers, and grocery stores around Christmas. It has been grown by Southern gardeners for generations. Though lovely to look at, the Jerusalem Cherry, a member of the infamous nightshade family, may do you in if ingested. (If in need of a horticultural means of knocking someone off, the Jerusalem Cherry might be a choice poison.) One section of my grandmother's chicken yard in McCormick County, SC, Zone 8A, was filled with a beautiful clump of Jerusalem Cherry, enriched by chicken droppings. Luxuriating in all that chicken manure, her Jerusalem Cherries shot up to about waist high and were laden with orange fruit in the fall. The hens' diet may not have included Jerusalem Cherries; or if it were, indeed, one of their menu items, they must have been immune to its poison. Go onto Google and do a search of "Jerusalem Cherry" on the Image Database. There are many good images of the plant. Of course, without more of a description, I'm guessing this is what you're asking about. |
