Groundcherry, Longleaf

Name: Longleaf Groundcherry

Botanical Name: Physalis longifolia

Form: Wildflower

Parts Used: Berries

 

Citation: Guenther, K. (2020 November) Groundcherry as wildlife food [Web log post.] Retrieved: readers supply the date, from http://wildfoods4wildlife.com

Getting Started

It’s easy to see the family connection between groundcherries and tomatillos— a papery husk housing a fruit inside.

Speaking broadly, some plants from the nightshade family (Solanaceae) can contain alkaloids which can be narcotic or hallucinogenic. We also get certain medications, such as Scopolamine for motion sickness from plants in this family. This family deserves respect! On the other hand, we also get edible fruits from some of the nightshade family members—like tomatoes and potatoes.

Solanaceae (Family) 

Physalis (Genus)

About this Species

The groundcherry fruit can be identified by the telltale Chinese lantern-like husk that encapsulates the fruit. Most of the groundcherry species associated with the genus Physalis in Virginia are native plants.

Common name	Virginia Physalis Species	Origin	Rare Plant Status
Cutleaf groundcherry	P. angulata	native	Not rare
Strawberry tomato	P. grisea	native	Not rare
Clammy groundcherry	P. heterophylla	native	Not rare
Longleaf groundcherry	P. longifolia	native	Not rare
Mexican groundcherry	P. philadelphica	non-native	Not rare
Husk tomato	P. pubescens	native	Not rare
Virginia groundcherry	P. virginiana	native	Yes, rare in some states (not Virginia)
Walter’s groundcherry	P. walteri	native	Globally uncommon, but not rare; Moderate risk of extirpation in Virginia

Virginia Botanical Associates. (Accessed November 2020). Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (http://www.vaplantatlas.org). c/o Virginia Botanical Associates, Blacksburg. 

USDA, NRCS. 2015. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 24 November 2020). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.

Key Features to Look For

In addition to the identification guide of your choice, here are a couple of features you should see on longleaf groundcherry:

• Papery or lacy “lantern” with a single round berry inside, the size of a large pea
• Bell-like flower with five fused petals
• Bell-shaped flower has creamy yellow petals with star-shaped maroon/brown center pattern
• Plant has a main stem, and branches seem to spread widely in random directions away from each other

Risks: Groundcherry’s immature fruits (green) can be toxic. Green forage of whole plant Physalis angulata baled in hay affected cattle and killed sheep. (Burrows, G.E. & Tyrl, R.J., 2013)

Flower Description: The flower has five petals that are “united” which means the petals are fused together to form a bell shape. The sepals of the flower develop into the “paper lantern” that contains the fruit. The flower is a creamy yellow color with a star-shaped maroon/ brown center. There is a short stem on the flower.

Leaf Description: A long oval with a pointy tip. At the leaf base (leaf stem end), the two sides of the leaf blade are offset. Leaf may have no or a few blunt teeth, or leaf edge may seem wavy. The plant stem has some ridges running its length.

Seed/ Fruit Size: The fruit inside the lantern is round, about 1 mm in diameter, the size of a large pea. It is bright green when immature and changes to a blend of orange/purple/pink when ripe. Notice the hairs on the stem of the “lantern.’

Harvest

		Jan		Feb		Mar		Apr		May		Jun		Jul		Aug		Sep		Oct		Nov		Dec
		winter		winter		late winter		early spring		spring		late spring		early summer		summer		late summer		early fall		fall		late fall
fruit																			x	x	x

Does this lend itself as a good enrichment item? If you have a lot of this plant (it can be weedy) you could pull up the whole plant with mature fruit attached and let the animals harvest the fruit they want out of the lanterns. 

Harvesting Fruit: When the lantern-like husks on the plant turn beige and dry, check a few of the interior fruits to see if they are ripe (not green) by gently tearing open the lantern to examine the fruit within. Groundcherries on the same plant ripen at different times. When ripe they will be orange-pink-purple in color. If most specimens you check seem ripe, go ahead and handpick as many of the lanterns as you want. Groundcherries do not continue to ripen well once picked, so I laboriously check each individual fruit and sort them into “keep” and “discard” piles. A certain number of the batch are always either dried up or unripe. The ripe berries can be given to the mammals and birds with the lantern attached, or you can remove the fruit.

How to Store Prepared Fruit

Commercial berry containers are great for storing fruit because the rigid plastic keeps the fruit from getting crushed and they also have small holes in them which control the humidity in the container. This slows the fruit from drying out too quickly but allows air circulation to reduce molding.

Groundcherries keep well in re-used commercial berry containers in the refrigerator for one to two weeks.  This fruit is likely to not freeze well, nor are you likely to get such great quantities that you would need to.

Rare Species in Virginia

Do you live in one of these Virginia counties? If so, be aware that there is a species near you that may be threatened or endangered. Do more research to make sure you are identifying your target species correctly and not harvesting a threatened species!

County in Virginia	Species	Alert
Chesterfield	Walter’s groundcherry	Globally uncommon, but not rare; Moderate risk of extirpation in Virginia
Virginia Beach	Walter’s groundcherry	Globally uncommon, but not rare; Moderate risk of extirpation in Virginia

(Townsend, John F., 2015)

 USDA, NRCS. 2015. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 24 November 2020). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.

Feed Groundcherry to:

Book references:

Elpel, T.J. (2013) Botany in a Day (APG). Pony, Montana: Hops Press, LLC.

Martin, A.C., Zim, H.S., Nelson, A.L. (1951). American Wildlife and Plants: A Guide to Wildlife Food Habits. New York: Dover Publications.

Scott, M. (2013). Songbird Diet Index. National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, St. Cloud, MN.

Townsend, J. F. (2019, March) Natural Heritage Resources of Virginia: Rare Plants. Natural Heritage Technical Report 19-15. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, Virginia. Unpublished report.

Online references:

Virginia Botanical Associates. (Accessed November 2020). Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (http://www.vaplantatlas.org). c/o Virginia Botanical Associates, Blacksburg.

USDA, NRCS. 2015. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 24 November 2020). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.