The week for Flora and Fauna Friday it’s another often overlooked weed with some surprising culinary character, Dune Groundcherry (Physalis walteri).
Dune Groundcherry, AKA Walter’s Groundcherry, is one of several Groundcherries found in our state. However, of the three found on Edisto, it’s the most common species you’ll encounter. It’s a perennial that grows heartily on sandy soils in full sun. It can often find a foothold even amidst grasses and the weedier forbs of fields and wood lines. The foliage is bluish-green with a silvery hue from the fine coat of hair which coats its upward cupping leaves. The plant itself is fairly compact and is usually only a foot or so in height. The flower is a small weeping funnel of pastel-yellow with a center inlaid with ebony. Once pollinated, a pendulous fruit will emerge; a paper lantern, vertically ribbed, dangling by a sinewy string. As the fruit grows and matures, it eventually yellows and dries. As it dries, its skin flakes away to reveal an intricate lattice of ashy veins that cage a golden morsel at its core. That orange-yellow sphere is the real fruit; the cherry atop the ground.
Groundcherries go by another name, Husk Tomatoes. It’s a name that’s pretty on the nose. Groundcherries are actually close relatives of the tomato and so their similarities run deep. Just one look at the hanging yellow flowers, silver-haired leaves, forked branches, and its smooth-skinned, spherical, orange berries will illustrate what I mean. In fact, the common Tomatillo (Physalis philadelphica) is a member of the Groundcherry genus too. Just like its culinary cousins, the fruits of Dune Groundcherry are edible as well! However, they’re poisonous when green, so it’s best to let them vine ripen before peeling away the husk and popping them in your mouth. I’ve been told they’re sweet with quite a fruity taste but, as they’re a favorite of wildlife, I’ve yet to get a chance to try one.
