Winter Cherry or Withania is a stout, erect shrub which grows to about 5.5' in the wastelands of India, Sri Lanka and other Asian countries. It also grows in parts of Africa.

Cultivated for medicinal purposes it has a place in Ayurveda equivalent to ginseng in Chinese medicine. The whole plant, especially the leaves and root are used, the latter known for smelling characteristically of horses.. The suffix 'somnifera' refers to the plant's use as a sedative.

Traditionally known as a pick-me-up or rejuvenative the plant has a range of applications including sedative, antiinflammatory and tonic - fresh fruit as an antiasthmatic, emetic and sedative, dried fruit as a carminative.

Ethnoveterinary application:roots for improving milk flow in ruminants, the whole plant for scabies, sores, cough and rheumatism