| John, I'm so glad that you asked this question, I've been admiring these plants for years, and it's neat that you noticed them. The plant you describe is related to Tomatillo, from the same genus, Physalis... The tomatillo is simply a domesticated Physalis with very large fruit that is typically picked green for salsa (it does get sweet if allowed to ripen fully). Anyway, there are several wild Physalis, commonly called groundcherry, species in New Mexico. In fact, they are certainly more common here in our arid climate than back in the wet northeast for example. And here's the really exciting part... they're delicious. Actually, more accurately, several species have very tasty ripe berries, that I collect by the bagful in September and October. Be warned however, that although as far as I know no ripe groundcherries are reported to be dangerous to eat, the unripe berries do contain toxins and will leave a bad taste in your mouth. The large plant you describe from the Sandias sounds like the species with very sticky black, bland-tasting berries. It has handsome fuzzy leaves and pale yellow downturned flowers with the summer rains, grows to a nice size, and holds it's papery-bracted fruit for a long time. I've seen this type listed as P.virginiana I think. The several other common species are lower growing, with mostly smooth leaves and stem, and yellow to orange berries when ripe (that are also sticky, but not nearly as sticky as the above). They spread out and fruit like mad, dropping the ripe berries on the ground still encased in their papery bract. This has keyed out to P.hederafolia (spelling). Well, I could go on, but it might be boring to most people... Hope this helps. Chris |
