planetrj

I love this one Richard, and it looks like you got the thornless variety. I had the one with the thorns and they were QUITE obnoxious (like a cactus!), and made it hard to harvest the fruit, so I ended up drying most of the seeds, since they ended up falling off into the center of the plant trunk cluster. I would also say the fruit tastes a little like the combination of Kiwi and the tartness of a Loquat. I found the plant to be more interesting and HIGHLY attractive than waiting forever for the fruit. Especially how enormous the foliage gets. Even more interesting looking with the purple spines. They are small, and don't contain more than a tablespoon of real usable juice after you get rid of all the pulp and seeds. I do wonder if there's a noticeable difference in flavor between the spined one and the spineless.

If anyone's interested in growing something that tastes similar, and is a close relative of this and tomatillo, with more hardiness than Lulo, try growing the Physallis peruviana. They will tolerate HIGH heat and will come back from the ground with heavy frosts. If you can find specifically Physalis pubescens, this one actually has the best flavor. I have a friend up in Ventura County at one time who used to grow about 10 different types for a University, and I had the privilege to taste several. However, P. peruviana is quite tasty as well (would be my second choice).

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you will never have enough bananas ^_^