Physalis pubescens |
Physalis crassifolia |
|
---|---|---|
hairy ground-cherry, husk tomato |
thick leaf ground cherry, yellow nightshade groundcherry |
|
Habit | Herbs annual, taprooted, ± glabrous to villous, hairs simple, jointed, glandular and eglandular, of varying lengths, all shorter than 0.5 mm, plants from southwestern United States all glandular, green in appearance when dry. | 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. |
Stems | erect, branching at most nodes, branches spreading, 0.5–8 dm. |
erect, branching from near base and at most nodes, branches widely spreading, distinctly zigzag, slender, 1–4(–10) dm. |
Leaves | petiolate; petiole 1/5 to as long as blade; blade broadly ovate to orbiculate, (1.6–)2.5–8(–9.5) × (1–)2–7 cm, base rounded to slightly cordate, margins entire or coarsely dentate, teeth fewer than 8 per side. |
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. |
Pedicels | slender, 3.5–9 mm, 5–15 mm in fruit. |
8–24(–33) mm, (11–)14–30(–35) mm in fruit. |
Flowers | calyx 3–6(–7) mm, lobes 1–3.5 mm; corolla yellow with 5 large, dark purple-brown-black spots, campanulate-rotate, 6–11 mm; anthers blue, rarely yellow or blue-tinged, not twisted after dehiscence, 1–2 mm. |
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. |
Fruiting calyces | loosely enclosing berry, sharply 5-angled, 20–35 × 15–25(–30) mm, always noticeably longer than wide. |
loosely enclosing berry, 10-ribbed, 14–30(–40) × (10–)15–20(–25) mm. |
2n | = 24. |
= 24. |
Physalis pubescens |
Physalis crassifolia |
|
Phenology | Flowering year-round in areas without frost, mostly May–Oct. | Flowering year-round in areas without frost, mostly Mar–Apr. |
Habitat | Low woods, edges of swamps, stream banks, floodplains, hammocks, disturbed habitats. | Gravelly or sandy slopes, washes, roadsides, mesas, canyons. |
Elevation | 0–900 m. [0–3000 ft.] | 100–1700 m. [300–5600 ft.] |
Distribution |
AL; AR; AZ; CA; DC; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MI; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NM; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; UT; VA; WI; WV; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies [Introduced in Australia]
|
AZ; CA; NV; UT; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Sonora) [Introduced in Australia]
|
Discussion | Fresh plants of Physalis pubescens reportedly have a strong fetid odor (M. Martínez 1998). This widespread species exhibits considerable variability in the character of the leaf margins and degree of indument. The fruits of P. pubescens are reportedly gathered for food. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 14. | FNA vol. 14. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. barbadensis, P. barbadensis var. glabra, P. floridana, P. latiphysa, P. pubescens var. glabra, P. pubescens var. integrifolia, P. turbinata | P. crassifolia var. cardiophylla, P. crassifolia var. versicolor, P. versicolor |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 183. (1753) | Bentham: Bot. Voy. Sulphur, 40. (1844) |
Web links |
|