Physalis pubescens |
Physalis mollis |
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hairy ground-cherry, husk tomato |
field groundcherry |
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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, often also with shallowly buried, slender rhizomes, densely pubescent, hairs dendroid-stelliform, to 1 mm, obscuring plant surface on younger growth, occasionally also jointed, branched or simple, 2–4 mm, glandular or eglandular. | ||||
Stems | erect, branching at most nodes, branches spreading, 0.5–8 dm. |
erect, branching occasionally, branches ascending, 1.5–5 dm. |
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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 1/3–4/5 blade; blade ovate, 2.5–7 × 1.5–6(–7) cm, base truncate, margins coarsely dentate or irregular to ± entire. |
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Pedicels | slender, 3.5–9 mm, 5–15 mm in fruit. |
10–25(–35) mm, 20–40(–52) mm in fruit. |
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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 6–10(–12) mm, lobes 2.5–5.5 mm; corolla yellow with 5 pale to dark brown smudges or dark purple-black spots, campanulate-rotate, 9.5–15(–17) mm; anthers yellow, rarely blue- or purple-tinged, not twisted after dehiscence, 3–4 mm. |
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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(–50) × 15–35 mm. |
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2n | = 24. |
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Physalis pubescens |
Physalis mollis |
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Phenology | Flowering year-round in areas without frost, mostly May–Oct. | |||||
Habitat | Low woods, edges of swamps, stream banks, floodplains, hammocks, disturbed habitats. | |||||
Elevation | 0–900 m. [0–3000 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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sc United States
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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.) |
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 14. | FNA vol. 14. | ||||
Parent taxa | ||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | P. barbadensis, P. barbadensis var. glabra, P. floridana, P. latiphysa, P. pubescens var. glabra, P. pubescens var. integrifolia, P. turbinata | P. viscosa subsp. mollis | ||||
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 183. (1753) | Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 5: 194. (1836) | ||||
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