Longleaf Groundcherry

Groundcherries (Physalis spp. L.) are a genus of annual or perennial, herbaceous nightshade plants in the Family Solanaceae which are relatives of and similar to tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) except that their fleshy fruit is enclosed in a papery husk derived from the calyx of the flower. Some species of groundcherries have been cultivated for their fruit for thousands of years by the Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and South America and come to us today most recognizably as Tomatillos (Physalis philadelphica Lam.) and Cape Gooseberries (Physalis peruviana L.).

There are at least seven Physalis species native to Virginia, and archaeological evidence has shown that the ripe fruits were likely gathered and eaten by Indigenous people in Eastern North America as well as North America more widely (Virginia Working Landscapes 2021; Santana 2022: 58). Since groundcherries are often a weedy species that prefer disturbed ground, it is likely that they were not planted by Indigenous farmers but simply grew alongside crops in cleared fields and were tolerated or even encouraged due to their edible fruit (Santana 2022: 58).

The species of Physalis we are growing is one that is nowadays a common agricultural weed called Longleaf Groundcherry/Smooth Groundcherry (Physalis longifolia Nutt., most likely Physalis longifolia Nutt. var. subglabrata (Mackenzie & Bush) Cronq.). This plant is a native herbaceous perennial, dying back to the ground every winter only to later regrow vigorously from its root system the following spring; this plant is also known to spread vigorously by its roots and seeds and can be aggressive. The ripe fruits and seeds of this plant were collected from a mature plant found growing as a weed at an orchard in Harford County, MD by Aidan Lawrence.

"...Of these naturall fruits they live a great part of the yeare..." (Smith 1907 {1624}: 54).
"...for neare three parts of the yeare, they onely observe times and seasons, and live of what the Country naturally affordeth from hand to mouth, &c." (Smith 1907 {1624}: 60).

"Ground Cherry is a member of the night shade family and a relative of the tomato. Its sweet, edible, yellow fruits are contained in straw-colored husks. The Indians knew this plant, and the early settlers enjoyed the fruit raw, or cooked, in sauces and pastries" (Hussey 1974: 332).

"Given their various useful properties, many of these weedy plants [(including Physalis spp. L.)] may have been encouraged rather than pulled from gardens" (Santana 2022: 58).

References

Banks, Jr., W. H. (1953). Ethnobotany of the Cherokee Indians. (Master of Science thesis, University of Tennessee). TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. Retrieved from: https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgiparams=/context/utk_gradthes/article/2293/&path_info=BanksWilliamHenry_1953_reduced.pdf.
Hussey, J. S. (1974). Some Useful Plants of Early New England. Economic Botany 28(3), 311-337. Retrieved from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4253521.
Santana, K. D. (2022). The Rhythm of the Land: Women’s Use of Plants During the Pigeon Phase of Magic Waters (31JK291) in Cherokee, North Carolina (Master of Arts Thesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville). Retrieved from Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange [TRACE]. Retrieved from: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/7064/.
Smith, J. (1907). The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, & The Summer Isles Together with The True Travels, Adventures and Observations, and A Sea Grammar By Captaine John Smith Sometymes Governour in those Countryes and Admirall of New England. (Vol. 1). Glasgow: The University of Glasgow Press, by James MacLehose and Sons. (Original work published 1624). Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/generallhistorie01smit/page/n7/mode/2up.
Virginia Working Landscapes. (2021). What's in Bloom | Groundcherries. Virginia Working Landscapes. Retrieved from: https://www.vaworkinglandscapes.org/native-plant-watch/native-plant-highlights/whats-in-bloom-groundcherries/#.

Longleaf Groundcherry