Ashwagandha is the Sanskrit name for Withania somnifera, a fruiting plant in the nightshade family that is also known as winter cherry. Ashwagandha produces small orange berries in papery husks like those of tomatillos and ground cherries. Although ashwagandha berries are technically edible, they’re not the most sought-after part of the plant—that would be the dried root. Ashwagandha root contains natural steroids called withanolides that have made the plant a staple of Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years. Withanolides are similar in structure to chemicals found in ginseng, which is why ashwagandha is sometimes called “Indian ginseng.”