CHINESE LANTERN PLANT, Physalis alkekengi should indeed carry a warning; not that its' fruit are poisonous but that it is a garden thug.
It is an extremely hardy perennial that spreads rapidly and eventually will be hard to get rid of. If you know the flowers of potato or tomato you will recognise its' kinship in the Solanaceae. Some people call it the Japanese Lantern Plant; in either case they are referring to the bright red-orange papery husk that encloses the round berry. Allow the fruit to ripen in its' natural paper bag until late August or September; cut a berry in half to reveal its' pulpy interior and small seeds and you should recognize it as a tomato.
The most widely used name for the fruit is tomatillo but also as Husk Tomato, Strawberry Tomato, Gooseberry Tomato, Cape Gooseberry, Bladder Cherry and Ground Cherry. All of these names attesting to its' desirable qualities as a fruit or vegetable. It is an essential ingredient in Mexican cookery and particularly well regarded by the Guatamaltecos.
About 80 species of Physalis grow around the world. The Mexican Tomatillo is Physalis ixocarpa. In South Africa the so-called Cape Gooseberry, Physalis peruviana makes a popular marmalade. Our First Nations people knew and used a couple of species although the fruits were no bigger than a cranberry.
I had thought that a web search would reveal recipes using the berries of the Chinese Lantern Plant but failed to find any. I would have loved to completely debunk the suggestion that the fruit is poisonous. What I did find when I searched Solanine (Solanine glycoalkaloids have predominately gastrointestinal effects) that tomatoes do not contain any. Potatoes do. Now that is tomatoes not Physalis so my research continues.
What I hope for is that a food scientist or good chef can show us that the berries of this very hardy perennial plant (most choice species are annuals) are safe, edible and could be made palatable.
Watch this space.
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