All plants /Ground /Ground Cherry
Ground Cherry
Physalis longifolia, nightshade family. Common in East and Central and West Texas.
At a glance
- What
- Small fruit inside a papery husk
- How
- Raw when ripe, or into jam and sauce
- When
- Summer into fall
- Where
- Fields, gardens, disturbed ground
- Value
- Vitamin C
Caution: Eat ONLY fruit that is ripe and golden inside a dry, tan husk. The green unripe fruit, leaves, and stems are toxic (nightshade family). Never eat a wild plant on this guide's word alone. Confirm identity against several sources and learn the look-alikes first.
Identification
A wild tomatillo: each fruit hangs inside a Chinese-lantern husk. Ripe fruit falls to the ground and yellows; that is your only safe signal.
In the kitchen
Ripe ground cherries taste of sweet tomato and pineapple, wonderful raw or cooked into a jam.
Photo: NY State IPM Program at Cornell University from New York, U, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Forages well with
Forage safely. Never eat a wild plant on this site's word alone. Confirm identity with several sources, learn the look-alikes, and when in doubt, leave it in the ground.