Physalis crassifolia |
Physalis neomexicana |
|
---|---|---|
thick leaf ground cherry, yellow nightshade groundcherry |
New Mexican groundcherry |
|
Habit | Herbs perennial, becoming suffrutescent, rhizomatous, rhizomes often just below soil surface, vertical, stout, puberulent, hairs divergent, to 0.5 mm, some glandular, appearing ± glabrous without magnification. | Herbs annual, taprooted, densely glandular-pubescent, hairs simple, mostly 0.5(–1 mm), grayish brown in appearance when dry. |
Stems | erect, branching from near base and at most nodes, branches widely spreading, distinctly zigzag, slender, 1–4(–10) dm. |
erect, angulate and blue-tinged, at least distally, branching at most nodes, internodes noticeably long, branches spreading, 1–5 dm. |
Leaves | petiolate; petiole mostly as long as blade; blade broadly ovate to deltate, 0.8–3.3(–4.5) × 0.8–3.3(–4.5) cm, base cordate, sometimes slightly unequal, margins entire to unevenly coarsely dentate, sometimes thick and slightly succulent. |
petiolate; petiole 1/3–1/2 blade; blade broadly ovate to orbiculate, 2–6 × 1.5–5 cm, base deltate to rounded-attenuate, margins coarsely, irregularly crenate-dentate. |
Pedicels | 8–24(–33) mm, (11–)14–30(–35) mm in fruit. |
stout, 2–5 mm, 5–10(–12) mm in fruit. |
Flowers | calyx (3–)4–7(–8) mm, lobes 1–3 mm; corolla pale yellow with yellow or greenish-brown smudges or tinge, campanulate-rotate, 8–14 mm; anthers yellow, not twisted after dehiscence, 1.5–3 mm. |
calyx 3–5 mm, lobes 1–2.5(–3) mm, long-attenuate; corolla yellow with 5 large, dark purple-blue-black spots, campanulate-rotate, 6–10 mm; anthers blue or blue-tinged, not twisted after dehiscence, 1 mm. |
Fruiting calyces | loosely enclosing berry, 10-ribbed, 14–30(–40) × (10–)15–20(–25) mm. |
loosely enclosing berry, sharply 5-angled (ribs often deep purple), nearly spheric, 20–25(–30) × 15–20(–30) mm. |
2n | = 24. |
= 24. |
Physalis crassifolia |
Physalis neomexicana |
|
Phenology | Flowering year-round in areas without frost, mostly Mar–Apr. | Flowering May–Sep. |
Habitat | Gravelly or sandy slopes, washes, roadsides, mesas, canyons. | Sandy soil, pinyon-juniper associations, disturbed grasslands, roadsides, cultivated fields, gardens. |
Elevation | 100–1700 m. (300–5600 ft.) | 1500–2500 m. (4900–8200 ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; NV; UT; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Sonora) [Introduced in Australia]
|
AZ; CO; NM; TX
|
Discussion | In Physalis crassifolia, the corolla limb is widely flaring and reflexed when the flower is fully open, and the flowers are more nodding than fully pendent. Some herbarium specimen labels indicate that plants flower the first year. Physalis greenei Vasey & Rose, not validly published, has been misapplied to some representatives of P. crassifolia. Physalis crassifolia is widespread in Arizona, but it is restricted in California to south-southeastern counties as far north as Inyo, in Nevada to Clark and Lincoln counties, and in Utah to Washington County. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Physalis neomexicana can be distinguished from P. pubescens by its stout pedicels, nearly spheric fruiting calyces, and grayish brown appearance when dry. Some herbarium specimen labels mention that the plants are ill-smelling. M. Martínez (1998) determined the name P. subulata Rydberg to be a synonym of P. patula Miller, which is a Mexican species. (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 | ||
Synonyms | P. crassifolia var. cardiophylla, P. crassifolia var. versicolor, P. versicolor | P. foetens var. neomexicana, P. subulata var. neomexicana |
Name authority | Bentham: Bot. Voy. Sulphur, 40. (1844) | Rydberg: Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 4: 325. (1896) — (as neo-mexicana) |
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