Physalis

One minute I was picking tomatillos from a heavily frosted bush in my veg patch and the next minute I was gathering Chinese lanterns from a border, 2 plants providing me something very different from the same species. Both belong to the Physalis family, a relation of the tomato. Tomatillos are widely grown in central and Southern America as they provide the fruit that is the base for salsa. The fruits are like small flattened green or purple tomatoes and are encased in a fine papery skin like that found of a cape gooseberry.

The tomatillo, a close but very independent cousin of the tomato and Cape gooseberry, is known by several names, including husk tomatoes, jam berries and Mexican green tomatoes. In the UK fruits mature in late summer and are best picked just before ripening, when the flesh is still firm and the flavors are bright with a gentle but assertive acidity. Look for firm fruit with tight, unwrinkled husks.

With husks on, tomatillos keep for about two weeks stored in a paper bag and refrigerated, but husk them and store refrigerated in a plastic bag and they keep up to four weeks. If you find yourself with an abundance, try freezing them (spread them, sliced or whole on a sheet pan in the freezer until solid, then place them in an airtight freezer bag).

In Spanish, tomatillo means "little tomato," and records show that tomatillos were cultivated by the Aztecs as far back as 800 B.C. Tomatillos liven many Latin American recipes with their vibrant colour, often silky texture and mildly tart flavour.

In contrast, Chinese lanterns are not edible, but have great vivid orange husks that decorate the late summer garden just outside my back door. Physalis alkekengi are often simply called physalis, a name derived from the Greek word for bladder. As a member of the nightshade family, physalis is related to tomatoes, peppers and petunias.

The ribbed, lantern like bladders are actually enlarged sepals that have fused together to envelop the forming fruit. The bright husk guards the fruit as it dehydrates in the autumn air. Gradually, it becomes paper thin and begins to break down to a delicate, lacy veiling.

Physalis is a vigorous perennial, capable of escaping cultivation or becoming a nuisance in the flower bed. It spreads by way of creeping rhizomes. These horizontal stems scramble about just below the surface and produce an amazing number of offspring. Chopping or pulling up the plants leaves pieces of rhizomes lurking in the soil to sprout again. I have learnt to live with it by thinning the growth in spring every year, allowing Salvias, Sedum, Gaura and Geraniums to compete with its bullish habits.

Before including physalis in a bed with other plants, its best to restrict its root area with an underground barrier. This will assist in restraining the rhizomes' underground march. Despite its vigour some people find it hard to establish- if it does you will be rewarded with armfuls of bright orange lanterns that will brighten your house all winter.