Ground cherry

The history of the ground cherry

The ground cherry, whose scientific name is “physalis,” is also called Cape gooseberry, winter cherry, Chinese lantern, or love in a cage. It belongs to the same family as tomatoes, the solanaceae. It was discovered in the 16th century and is native to Peru. It was introduced to North America in 1860. For a long time, it was considered an exotic fruit and garnered little interest for cultivation. It was reserved for luxury products, such as jams. It has a very fine, delicate, sweet, and even tangy taste, which is worth discovering.