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cypresshead groundcherry

clammy ground-cherry, ground cherry

Habit Herbs perennial, rhizomatous, rhizomes deeply buried, slender, typically also with shallowly buried, slender rhizomes, glabrous to villous, hairs simple, antrorse, to 1 mm, sometimes also with simple, jointed, divergent hairs, 1–2 mm, sometimes glandular. Herbs perennial, rhizomatous, rhizomes deeply buried, stout, densely villous, hairs simple, jointed, divergent, 1–2 mm, sometimes also with shorter glandular hairs.
Stems

erect, few-branched, 0.5–3 dm.

erect to decumbent, branching at most nodes, branches spreading and decumbent, 1.5–10 dm.

Leaves

petiolate;

petiole 1/4–2/3 blade;

blade ovate to suborbiculate, 1.5–6(–6.5) × 1–5 cm, base truncate to cordate, margins entire or coarsely, irregularly dentate with few teeth.

petiolate;

petiole 1/3–2/3 blade;

blade broadly ovate to suborbiculate, (2–)4–11(–13) × 3–9(–10) cm, base truncate to slightly cordate, margins deeply and irregularly dentate to ± entire.

Pedicels

(8–)11–17(–25) mm, 15–30(–35) mm in fruit.

9–15(–20) mm, 20–30 mm in fruit.

Flowers

calyx 6–12 mm, villous, lobes 2–5 mm;

corolla yellow with 5 pale reddish-brown smudges or not, campanulate-rotate, 10–17 mm;

anthers yellow, not twisted after dehiscence, 2.5–4 mm.

calyx 6–12 mm, lobes 3–6 mm;

corolla yellow with 5 large purple-brown smudges, campanulate-rotate, 10–17 mm;

anthers yellow, rarely blue-tinged, not twisted after dehiscence, 2.5–4.5 mm.

Fruiting calyces

loosely enclosing berry, 10-ribbed, 20–35 × 15–25 mm.

loosely enclosing berry, 10-ribbed, 25–40 × 15–30 mm.

2n

= 24.

= 24.

Physalis arenicola

Physalis heterophylla

Phenology Flowering year-round in areas without frost. Flowering May–Sep.
Habitat Sandy soil, pine-oak woods, hammocks, fields, pastures, road­sides. Openings in hardwood forests, edges of pine woods, grasslands, fields, roadsides, dis­turbed sites.
Elevation 0–50 m. (0–200 ft.) 10–400 m. (0–1300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; MS
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; WY; ON; QC; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Physalis arenicola is found throughout Florida; only a few records exist from the other states in its range.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Physalis heterophylla is widespread east of the Rocky Mountains. Herbarium specimens from Manitoba, Oregon, and Utah represent historical collections. Morphological variation has been recognized taxonomically in some manuals, although intergradation occurs among varieties and they often cannot be identified reliably. The cultivated P. peruviana (cape gooseberry) is similar to P. heterophylla except that it is not glandular and has shorter pedicels (6–8 mm in flower, 13–15 mm in fruit). W. F. Hinton (1975b) reported the uncommon occurrence of a population in North Carolina representing natural hybridization between P. heterophylla and P. virginiana.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 14. FNA vol. 14.
Parent taxa Solanaceae > Physalis Solanaceae > Physalis
Sibling taxa
P. acutifolia, P. angulata, P. angustifolia, P. caudella, P. cinerascens, P. cordata, P. crassifolia, P. fendleri, P. grisea, P. hederifolia, P. heterophylla, P. lanceolata, P. longifolia, P. missouriensis, P. mollis, P. neomexicana, P. philadelphica, P. pubescens, P. pumila, P. solanacea, P. virginiana, P. walteri, P. ×elliottii
P. acutifolia, P. angulata, P. angustifolia, P. arenicola, P. caudella, P. cinerascens, P. cordata, P. crassifolia, P. fendleri, P. grisea, P. hederifolia, P. lanceolata, P. longifolia, P. missouriensis, P. mollis, P. neomexicana, P. philadelphica, P. pubescens, P. pumila, P. solanacea, P. virginiana, P. walteri, P. ×elliottii
Synonyms P. arenicola var. ciliosa, P. ciliosa P. ambigua, P. heterophylla var. ambigua, P. heterophylla var. clavipes, P. heterophylla var. nyctaginea, P. heterophylla var. villosa, P. nyctaginea, P. sinuata
Name authority Kearney: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 21: 485. (1894) Nees: Linnaea 6: 463. (1831)
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