Walter's groundcherry, Physalis walteri, is South Florida's answer to Mexico's tomatillo. We say that for two reasons: the tomatillo is in fact a groundcherry and member of the Physalis genus. Secondly, while there are other groundcherry species growing in South Florida, Walter's is probably the most abundant and widespread.

It is a Florida native, found in most of the Peninsula and parts of the Panhandle. It's also native to the Atlantic and Gulf coastal states from Virginia to Louisiana.

The first thing to know about groundcherries is that they are members of Solanaceae, the nightshade family, which includes tomatoes, potatoes and peppers. The second thing to know is that they all are members of Physalis, which means bladder in Greek, and refers to papery sack that encases the fruit.

In the case of Walter's, the fruit is similar to a cherry tomato, and turns from green to deep orange when ripe. The husk, or sack, turns from green to a papery brown. The green fruit is toxic but quite edible raw or cooked when ripe. More on that in a bit, but for now a little more on the species as a whole.

There are 9 varieties of groundcherry found in Florida, six of them in South Florida, according to the Institute for Regional Conservation. They all produce a small, dangling, trumpet-shaped yellow flower that produces a fruit wrapped up in a papery sack. They do vary from each other in ways subtle or distinct. Walter's is on the dimunitive side, reaching six inches to a foot off the ground. It is covered in fine hairs that give the plant a grayish tone. The leaves are elliptical in shape, wavy, have smooth edges and are about an inch to four inches long.