These perennials can be grown decoratively as house plants, but in some areas of South Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand it is regarded as a weed.

Indeed, these taxa are now generally held to refer to the same species, and the "false Jerusalem cherry", if it is at all distinguishable, seems to be a chemotype at best, or just a motley collection of cultivars.

But these are generally also not considered to be taxonomically distinct today:[6] A Jerusalem cherry plant is given as a Christmas gift in Lucy Maud Montgomery's 1935 novel Mistress Pat.

It is believed to be a symbol of bad luck, a notion that is apparently confirmed when the Gardiner family's Christmas celebrations go haywire.

[8] Alicia Silverstone, an actress best known for starring in the movie Clueless, posted a TikTok of herself eating an unknown, cherry-tomato-like fruit off the street in England in August 2024; fans identified this as a Jerusalem cherry, prompting concerns for her health and spawning many memes.