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common groundcherry, ground-cherry, long leafed tomatillo, long-leaf ground-cherry, wild tomatillo

smallflower groundcherry

Habit Herbs perennial, rhizomatous, rhizomes deeply buried, stout, glabrous or sparsely strigose, hairs simple, antrorse, to 0.5 mm. Herbs perennial, rhizomatous, rhizomes deeply buried, stout, sparsely to ± densely pubescent, hairs dendroid-stelliform, to 1 mm.
Stems

erect or erect to decumbent, branching frequently at distal nodes or several-branched from base, branches spreading or ascending, 1–6 dm.

erect to decumbent, branching at most nodes, proximal branches spreading and decumbent, 0.5–5 dm.

Leaves

petiolate;

petiole 1/5–2/5 blade;

blade ovate to ovate-lanceolate or broadly lanceolate, 2.5–10(–13) × 0.5–6(–7) cm, base truncate to rounded, margins entire to coarsely dentate or irregularly crenate-dentate with only a few teeth.

sessile or petiolate;

petiole 1/5 to as long as blade;

blade orbiculate to broadly ovate or elliptic to spatulate, 1.5–8(–9) × 1–6(–8) cm, base truncate to attenuate, margins coarsely dentate, sinuate, or entire.

Pedicels

5–18 mm, 12–35 mm in fruit.

10–33 mm, 15–60 mm in fruit.

Flowers

calyx (5–)7–12 mm, sparsely strigose with short, antrorse hairs, lobes 3–6 mm;

corolla yellow with 5 purple-brown smudges, campanulate-rotate, 10–20 mm;

anthers yellow or blue-tinged, not twisted after dehiscence, 2–4 mm.

calyx (3.5–)5–9 mm, lobes 1.5–4 mm;

corolla yellow with 5 dark purple-black spots, campanulate-rotate, (8–)10–16 mm;

anthers yellow, rarely purple-tinged, not twisted after dehiscence, 2–5 mm.

Fruiting calyces

loosely enclosing berry, 10-ribbed, 20–40 × 15–30 mm.

loosely enclosing berry, 10-ribbed, 15–35(–45) × 10–35 mm.

2n

= 24.

Physalis longifolia

Physalis cinerascens

Distribution
from USDA
North America; n Mexico [Introduced in Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
c United States; sc United States; Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

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

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

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

Key
1. Stems erect to decumbent, branching at base; leaf blades glabrous.
var. texana
1. Stems erect, branching at distal nodes; leaf blades glabrous or sparsely strigose.
→ 2
2. Leaf blades narrowly ovate-lanceolate to lan­ceolate; anthers yellow.
var. longifolia
2. Leaf blades ovate to ovate-lanceolate or broadly lanceolate; anthers blue-tinged.
var. subglabrata
1. Leaf blades orbiculate to broadly ovate, 1–6(–8) cm wide, base truncate to slightly attenuate, margins dentate, sinuate, or entire; corolla limbs reflexed when fully open.
var. cinerascens
1. Leaf blades elliptic to spatulate, 1–4 cm wide, base attenuate, margins entire; corolla limbs not reflexed when fully open.
var. spathulifolia
Source FNA vol. 14. FNA vol. 14.
Parent taxa Solanaceae > Physalis Solanaceae > Physalis
Sibling taxa
P. acutifolia, P. angulata, P. angustifolia, P. arenicola, P. caudella, P. cinerascens, P. cordata, P. crassifolia, P. fendleri, P. grisea, P. hederifolia, P. heterophylla, P. lanceolata, 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
P. longifolia var. longifolia, P. longifolia var. subglabrata, P. longifolia var. texana
P. cinerascens var. cinerascens, P. cinerascens var. spathulifolia
Synonyms P. pensylvanica var. cinerascens, P. viscosa var. cinerascens
Name authority Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 5: 193. (1836) (Dunal) Hitchcock: Key Spring Fl. Manhattan, 32. (1894)
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