43 



34. Ground Cherry 

 Physalis 



Ground cherries may be eaten raw but are not very good. 

 Often they are made into preserves. The green fruits, some- 

 times resembling small tomatoes, are widely used in Central 

 America as a substitute for tomatoes in flavoring foods. They 

 are usually found in waste ground or often as weeds in culti- 

 vated soil. The low, soft-stemmed plant bears small greenish- 

 yellow flowers with dark eyes. The fruits or berries look like 

 small Chinese lanterns. The rather sweet berries are yellowish 

 when ripe, and have small seeds like those of the tomato. In 

 Central America the ground cherry is called miltomate. 



