Physalis ixocarpa or Physalis philadelphica, are a member of the Solanaceae family alongside the tomato, and are in the genus Physalis, along with the cape gooseberry.
Purple tomatillos are uniquely beautiful and rare to find. They?re small and round like a golf ball, with an average diameter of one or two inches at maturity. Like all tomatillos, the Purple tomatillo is encased in a papery husk, which turns from green to brown and splits open as the fruit matures. The fruit itself starts out pale green and ripens to a deep violet color, and that rich purple skin coloring bleeds into its bright green interior flesh. Purple tomatillos have a tangy-sweet taste, much sweeter than their green counterparts, with citrus-like hints and sub-acid flavors of plum and pear. The semi-determinate, heavily branched plants have dark green leaves with striking purple veins, grow to an average of just three feet, and produce high yields of this exceptional fruit.