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NAME: Ground Cherry

SPECIES / FAMILY:  Physalis Angulata / Solanaceae

OTHER COMMON NAME(S):  Cut-Leaf Ground Cherry

CONDITIONS: sun-shade
 

PARTS:	EDIBLE	TASTE	RAW/COOK	SEASON
All
Shoots
Leaves			COOK	Summer
Buds/Flowers
Fruits		slightly citrus	RAW/COOK	Summer
Roots
Seeds
Nuts
Pods
Stalk
Bark

 

PORTION: medium

 

COMMENT: Edible fruit - raw or cooked. Juicy and sub-acid. Young leaves - cooked as a potherb.(1)

 

CAUTION:  Must be ripe. Do not eat fruit “lantern” covering (calyx), it is toxic.(2) Although no specific mention has been seen for this species, it belongs to a genus where many of the members have poisonous leaves and stems, though the full ripe fruits are usually edible.(1) As part of the nightshade family, these fruit have a small amount of toxicity when unripe. If eaten before they are ready they will cause very bad stomach distress.(4)

 

NUTRITION/MEDICINAL:  https://healthiersteps.com/all-about-ground-cherries / Diuretic;  Expectorant;  Febrifuge (1) 

 

LOOK-A-LIKES:  

 

POISONOUS LOOK-A-LIKES: horse nettle at early stage - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_carolinense

 

OTHER USES:

 

SOURCE LINKS (may include nutritional and medicinal info, plus other uses):

1. https://www.pfaf.org https://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Physalis+angulata
2. http://www.eattheweeds.com/physalis-tomatos-wild-cousin-2/ P.Walteri / P.Viscosa
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physalis_angulata & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physalis
4. http://www.foragingtexas.com/2008/10/ground-cherry.html
5. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/five-ways-to-eat-ground-cherries-98470003/
6. https://permaculturenews.org/2017/06/29/ground-cherries/