Tomatillo
Physalis philadelphica
A husk-covered nightshade for salsa verde. Fruit fills the husk when ripe. Usually needs a second plant for pollination. Not a green tomato.
GROW → HARVEST → EAT → DRY → POWDER → CAPSULE → GUMMY — forms are not equivalent. Food first.
Identity
What it is
A husk-covered nightshade for salsa verde. Fruit fills the husk when ripe. Usually needs a second plant for pollination. Not a green tomato.
Edible portions
- fruit inside the husk
Absence of a portion from this list means it is not treated as food here — not that every other part is toxic.
Growing
- Climate. Annual heat
- Light. Full sun
- Soil. Average, well-drained
- Planting. Start indoors like tomatoes. Plant at least two.
- Harvest. When husks split or dry and fruit is firm and that cultivar’s color.
Preparation and culinary uses
- Salsa verde, roasted salsa
- Raw or cooked
Next steps
Sources
- USDA PLANTS Database — taxonomy and range (verify current entries)
- No USDA FoodData Central nutrient profile is attached here. That is not a claim that the plant contains no nutrients.
- State cooperative extension growing guides — verify for your region
Honest incompleteness is preferred to fabricated completeness. If a section is missing, no record for it is attached here — not a claim that the plant lacks that characteristic, and not that it was omitted as a secret.
Internal quality class B. Good foundation: enough unique information to exist as its own destination.