CHAPTER XII. 



MISCELLANEOUS VEGETABLES. 



Alkekengi, or Ground Cherry. Martynia. Okra, or Gumbo. Rhubarb, 

 or Pie-plant. Tobacco. 



ALKEKENGI. 



Strawberry-tomato. Winter Cherry. Ground Cherry. Earba- 

 does Gooseberry. Physalis edulis. 



THIS is a hardy, annual plant, with an angular, branch- 

 ing, but not erect stem, attaining a height or length of 

 more than three feet. The flowers are solitary, yellow, spotted 

 or marked with purple, and about half an inch in diameter ; 

 the fruit is roundish or obtuse-heart-shaped, half an inch in 

 diameter, yellow, semi-transparent at maturity, and enclosed 

 in a peculiar thin, membranous, inflated, angular calyx, or 

 covering, which is of a pale-green color while the fruit is 

 forming, but at maturity changes to a dusky white or red- 

 dish-drab. The pedicel, or fruit-stem, is weak and slender, 

 and most of the berries fall spontaneously to the ground at 

 the time of ripening. 



The seeds are small, yellow, lens-shaped, and retain their 

 germinative properties three years. 



The plants are exceedingly prolific, and will thrive in 

 almost any description of soil. Sow at the same time, and 

 thin or transplant to the same distance, as practised in the 

 cultivation of the Tomato. On land where it has been 

 grown, it springs up in great abundance, and often becomes 

 troublesome in the garden. 



