Physalis pubescens |
Physalis heterophylla |
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hairy ground-cherry, husk tomato |
clammy ground-cherry, ground cherry |
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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, rhizomatous, rhizomes deeply buried, stout, densely villous, hairs simple, jointed, divergent, 1–2 mm, sometimes also with shorter glandular hairs. |
Stems | erect, branching at most nodes, branches spreading, 0.5–8 dm. |
erect to decumbent, branching at most nodes, branches spreading and decumbent, 1.5–10 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 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 | slender, 3.5–9 mm, 5–15 mm in fruit. |
9–15(–20) mm, 20–30 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 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, sharply 5-angled, 20–35 × 15–25(–30) mm, always noticeably longer than wide. |
loosely enclosing berry, 10-ribbed, 25–40 × 15–30 mm. |
2n | = 24. |
= 24. |
Physalis pubescens |
Physalis heterophylla |
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Phenology | Flowering year-round in areas without frost, mostly May–Oct. | Flowering May–Sep. |
Habitat | Low woods, edges of swamps, stream banks, floodplains, hammocks, disturbed habitats. | Openings in hardwood forests, edges of pine woods, grasslands, fields, roadsides, disturbed sites. |
Elevation | 0–900 m. [0–3000 ft.] | 10–400 m. [30–1300 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]
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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
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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.) |
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 | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. barbadensis, P. barbadensis var. glabra, P. floridana, P. latiphysa, P. pubescens var. glabra, P. pubescens var. integrifolia, P. turbinata | P. ambigua, P. heterophylla var. ambigua, P. heterophylla var. clavipes, P. heterophylla var. nyctaginea, P. heterophylla var. villosa, P. nyctaginea, P. sinuata |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 183. (1753) | Nees: Linnaea 6: 463. (1831) |
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