We realized we should think about when green vernissage tomatoes were ripe. They are supposed to have green flesh so this has turned out rather complicated. These ones are good. The green between the dark green stripes has a hint of yellow and translucency. They taste nice and the flesh isn’t mealy.These ones are too soft. They are darker (I don’t think the picture shows well) and have some very soft spots. I tried one and it was bland with a mealy texture.This tomato is too soft.These green vernissage are all ripe except the very bright pale green one that has a thumbs down on it.Bonus: Briar examines the topped up jar of bisbee gray cowpeas.
I think the latest glass gem popcorn (right) was harvested at a better time. The colors are brighter and the kernels are looser. The plant stalk was completely dry as well as the ear husk.Tuqu wanted to rub her face on it.Gram was only mildly intrigued.Shackleton went under the bed to avoid responding to our survey.Briar only had eyes for Shackleton.
The Missouri fluttermill primroses just keep going! I’m wondering if it’s that I’m giving the new Justicia pilosella behind them water? It’s usually just a cup or two.A mystery squash has emerged.The green basils are getting sunscald on their leaves, I think. The amethyst basil are shaded a bit by the mealy blue sage and look better, but also wilt more often between watering.
We appear to have some potatoes in the straw bales. The Granny Smith apple is having a hard time. The leaves are turning brittle and possibly sunscalded? We are on mandatory water conservation until the city pump is fixed Monday hopefully so the most I can do is hand water it. However, this apple tree is the most westward facing so maybe it’s just having problems.Native Texas dandelion in backyard earlier.
Shackleton pants in the plant window. It’s 103 F outside. I’m going to put a thermometer in there with him. He has an entire air conditioned house and he chooses here. Update: it’s only 90F in the window, not as bad as I thought. However, the sun has also moved far enough west that it may be shadier. Anyways, still a goofy decision for a fluffy polar explorer.
The seeds are rugose. This means rough. Commelina erecta, the native species, has mostly smooth seeds. C. diffusa and C. communis have rugose seeds.The “spathe” is the part that enfolds the flower. In C. communis the veins are slightly darker, which I believe matches this.The tiny third petal in front is white. Apparently it’s blue in C. diffusa.
All this to say, after keying out with the NC TX flower, I am disappointed to find my yard full of dayflowers appears to be full of the invasive, non-native version.
Plant A: the volunteer. It has generated two fruits and Paula wants to eat them. I want to know what this plant is first. Help me not let Paula get sick.Close up of plant A leaf.Close up of Plant A young flower. A more mature flower a few months ago (see below) has more brown/purple on petals but not I think on the anthers?The north central Texas flora keys out to two main groups by hair type. These, on Plant A, appear to be simple, and possibly retrorse (curving down). No hair joints eliminates P. heterophylla.Plant A: the leaf and the two fruits. The fruit calyxes are five angled.I zoomed in on a picture of the previous flower, same plant A. I believe the anthers are yellow. I would like help with that, as it’s been a while since I’ve tried to confirm anthers. Yellow anthers and simple hairs get it to P. longifolia or P. virginiana in the NC TX Flora. The leaves for both species are are ovate to lanceolate, which seems inconsistent with Plant A. Longifolia also is said to often have purple stems. This one has stripes but not fully purple. The NC TX Flora says these two are possibly toxic. The new Foraging Texas book says all the Physalis are fine. Other sources claim virginiana’s fine or may need a frost. One of the sources is this book about Physalis and relatives so I may get it via interlibrary loan.This is the underside of Plant B. Plant B should be a cultivar of Physalis pruinosa based on its location and what I have planted there. It has similar simple, possibly retrorse hairs. Plant B is not flowering yet this year. I had a really hard time finding flower pictures for P. pruinosa, as most people sort of reasonably are interested in the fruit. It does appear to have yellow anthers. Plant C. This is from a probably perennial wild Physalis (I have never planted any Physalis that made it to fruiting in the backyard). Its hairs are distinctly stellate. None of the individuals in the cluster of 2-4 Plant C individuals were flowering, but the hairs seem to narrow it to P. cinerascens or P. mollis. I think P. cinerascens seems more likely on leaf shape, but both are edible and neither have simple leaf hairs.Plant C leaf (left) and plants A (upper right leaf, bigger) and B (lower right leaf, smaller – it’s from a younger plant), and plant A fruits.
So, am I missing anything obvious here? Is this identifiable? Have any of you consumed P. longifolia or P. virginiana and lived?
Update: Mom showed me a few other keys and they get it to P. virginiana too. None of the keys contain P. pruinosa. P. virginiana is also a perennial while P. pruinosa is an annual, so maybe next year will also provide a clue.
