Physalis longifolia

Physalis longifolia
var. subglabrata
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Solanales
Family:	Solanaceae
Genus:	Physalis
Species:	P. longifolia
Binomial name
Physalis longifolia Nutt.

Physalis longifolia, known by the common names common groundcherry, long-leaved groundcherry, and wild tomatillo,^[1] is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. It is native to North America, where it is native to eastern Canada, much of the continental United States,^[2] and northern Mexico. It has also been noted as an introduced species in other regions,^[3] including parts of the United States outside its native range. In some areas, such as California, it is an occasional noxious weed.^[4][5]

This species is a perennial herb growing 20 to 60 centimeters tall with somewhat oval-shaped leaf blades 4 to 7 centimeters long borne on petioles. Flowers occur in the leaf axils. The bell-shaped corolla is up to 2 centimeters wide and is yellow with purplish markings around the center. The husk covering the berry is up to 3.5 centimeter long with 10 veins.^[4]

There are two varieties:^[3][6]

• P. longifolia var. longifolia
• P. longifolia var. subglabrata (syn. P. subglabrata)

Uses

The yellow-green fruit is edible. The fresh fruit "tastes like an effervescent, under-ripened strawberry", and the dried berry "tastes like a cross between a raisin and dried cranberry."^[1] Native American groups used it for food. The Puebloan peoples called the fruits charoka and shuma charoka and ate them fresh or cooked.^[1]

The Zuni people referred to the plant and its relative Physalis hederifolia as Ke’tsitokia, and probably used them in similar ways. Women grew it in household gardens. The tomato-flavored berry was boiled and ground with onion, coriander, and chilis to make a dish considered to be a delicacy. The fruit was also dried and mixed into flour for bread. Today the Zuni use the common tomatillo (P. philadelphica) in a sauce recipe derived from the traditional dishes that used wild species.^[1]

The var. subglabrata has been listed in government compendia of restricted taxa believed to be hallucinogenic, but this is likely inaccurate.^[1]

P. longifolia is easy to grow in trials and produces a flavorful fruit.^[1]

References

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