One morning while I was weeding and tidying up my garden, I found this nice looking weed in one of my flower pots. This plant must have sprouted from a seed brought by a bird. I was about to pull it out but on second thought I was thinking to myself that it might turned out to be an interesting plant.
I dug it out from where it was and planted it into an unoccupied pot. Wanting to satisfy my curiosity I watch it grow.
The plant started growing and branched out. I began to find this plant familiar. I remembered this plant from my childhood days. To confirm, I needed to see the fruits, i.e, if it has any. So I waited...
Then I started to notice small flower buds forming.
The flower is yellow and brownish on the inner side.
Then I saw the fruit and I immediately recognized this plant. It was the same plant that my girlfriends and I used to pluck the fruits and play 'masak-masak' (children's cooking game) with it.
This is the Tomatillo plant. It is related to the tomato family. Some of its other names are Wild Cape Gooseberry, Pymy Groundcherry, Native Gooseberry, Physalis Minima (or Letup Kelambu in Malay).
From my plant, the fruit with its papery skin is about 2.5 to 3 cm wide and 3.5 to 4 cm long. The papery skin is easily removed and the round fruit inside is slightly more than 1.5 cm diameter. It is slightly sweet and has many tiny seeds. It tastes a bit like cherry tomato.
These are some of the ripen fruits which have fallen to the ground.
The papery skin opened to reveal the fruits inside.
The fruits are cut to reveal the seeds.
Tomatillo is considered a useful plant or herb when the fruits are consumed and is considered a weed when the fruits are not used. The fruits are rich in vitamins and minerals and can be eaten raw or cooked. The fruits are usually used in salsas, stews and sauces for meat. The fruits are also used to make jam and marmalade.
Tomatillo is claimed to have medicinal value and traditionally used to treat diabetes and fever.
A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
(Proverbs 17:22, New International Version-NIV)
