From Eat the Weeds
and other things, too
by Green Deane
Ground Cherry, Wild Husk Tomatoes, Almost
Physalis: Tomato’s Wild Cousin
Only the ripe fruit in the husk is edible
I discovered ground cherries quite by accident.
It
was back in the last century. I raided a particular field annually for
smilax tips and noticed the ground cherries in blossom. That prompted
me to returned later in the season to collect them. Unfortunately that
field is now a residential neighborhood. While ground cherries are a
common plant one has to look for them. They blend in well and don’t
announce themselves. Even their blossoms are sotto voce. The blossoms
like to look down and this one, below, had to be coaxed into a
picture.
Ground Cherry, P. walteri & P. viscosa
Ground cherries, locally Physalis walteri, (FEE-sa-lis
wall-TEER-ee) are related to tomatoes and tomatillos. Physalis
means “bladder” referring to the enclosed fruit. The Physalis
is
found in the Old World as well as the New World. There are nine species
here in Florida and you would be hard pressed to tell some of them
apart. The local Indians used them interchangeably.
Don’t eat them if they are really bitter
After
discovering my local ground cherry inland I then noticed some on the
east coast of Florida. They looked similar (both had blossoms with and
without purple throats.) Inland they were P. walteri, and on the coast P. viscosa.
I had two different books of Florida wild flowers with good
descriptions. Yet I could not tell these two species apart, even after
taking into account the blossom variation. I went to a third book and
found out why. They are the same species. One book called it P. walteri and did not mention any other names, and the other book called it P. viscosa again also did not include any other names. Sometimes you want to strangle botanists…
That would mean Physalis viscosa means “sticky bladder” and P. walteri
means “Walter’s Bladder.” Who “Walter” was I do not know but many such
plants are often named for Thomas Walter, an 18th century South
Carolina botanist. Another ground cherry I’ve found tasty is the
Coastal Ground Cherry (Physalis angustifolia) that I have found on the west coast of Florida.
Not all blossoms have a ruby throat
The
fruit is edible raw or cooked, as in pies or preserves. The fruit can
fall from the plant before it is ripe. That usually takes a week or two
or more until the husk has dried and the fruit a golden yellow to
orange. Each fruit is wrapped in a husk that is NOT edible. The fruit
will store several weeks if left in the husk. Unripe fruit —
light green — is toxic. Ripe fruits are light to golden yellow.
If any ripe fruit has a bitter aftertaste should be cooked first. If it
is still bitter after cooking, don’t eat it. A wild species that takes
to home gardening very well is Physalis angulata, the Cutleaf Ground Cherry. It’s tall and prolific under cultivation.
P. walteri/ P. viscosa
Linguistically
the plant has had quite a diverse journey with nearly every country and
language having its own (or several) names for the encased fruit. The
ancient Greeks used halikakabon and pheesalis (bladder and swelling)
the latter was translated into Dead Latin as visicaria.
The Italians used halicacabo uolgare and the French halicacabon comun,
both of which mean “common bladder.” In Italy they are now called
Coralli (coral) and Palloncini (balloons.) Farther north they were
called winter chirir ((winter cherry) Judenkirsen (Jew’s Cherry) and
Schlutten (ground cherry in 1542 German) They were also called
Judendocken (Jew’s bundle) Judenhutlin (a variation of Jew’s hat) and
that got mangled into the English Jerusalem Cherry, which is still
used. The Aztecs called it tomatl (source for the words tomato and
tomatillo.) In Hawaii it is called Poha.
Coastal Ground Cherry, Physalis angustifolia
Green Deane’s “Itemized” Plant Profile
Identification: P. walteri/P.viscosa:
Fruit is a yellowish sticky berry that does not fill the husk, solitary
growing from the leaf’s axil. Leaves are entire or wavy and angled,
sometimes toothed. Flowers are yellow with dark centers, purplish
antlers, or no dark centers. Entire plant covered with fine hairs,
entire plant sometimes appears gray. All the P. angulatas I’ve seen had toothy leaves like the photo and strong branching stems.
Physalis angulata
Time of year: Blossoms in late spring fruits towards fall, however in Florida it can have two seasons, summer and fall.
Environment:
Old fields, sunny woods, bordering streams, cultivated fields, waste
ground, railroads, road sides; full sun to some shade. Low growing,
often overlooked. It likes water and humidity.
Method of preparation:
When ripe raw or cooked like any fruit, pectin needs to be added to
make jelly or jam. Species with a bitter after taste are better
cooked. If bitter after cooking do not eat. Some foraging books
say the fruit does not ripen on the plants but I have found and eaten
many that were. More so,like a tomato while it will ripen off the
plant it will not improve in sweetness off the plant. Only ripening on
the plant accomplishes that.
Green Deane's
Disclaimer
Information
contained on this website is strictly and categorically intended as a
reference to be used in conjunction with experts in your area. Foraging
should never begin without the guidance and approval of a local plant
specialist. The providers of this website accept no liability for the
use or misuse of information contained in this website.
Back to
Cutleaf Ground Cherry Page
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Bibliography
Deane, Green. "Ground Cherry, Wild Husk Tomatoes, Almost." Eat the Weeds
and other
things, too. www.eattheweeds.com/physalis-tomatos-wild-cousin-2/.
Accessed 2 Sept. 2019.
Photographs
Sybaritica. "Foodstuff: Physalis (Cape Gooseberry)." Sybaritica, Eat the Weeds
and other
things, too. www.eattheweeds.com/physalis-tomatos-wild-cousin-2/.
Accessed 2 Sept. 2019.
Published 2 Sept. 2019 LR
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