Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Solanales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Physalis angulata
FAMILY
Solanaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Smooth Ground-cherry at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
The most recognizable traits of these nightshade relatives are the spotted, solitary, bell-shaped yellow flowers and the inflated, papery husk surrounding the ripe berry. Learn more from the University of Kentucky herbarium's website.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Physalis angulata
FAMILY
Solanaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Physalis angulata
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 165-03-004:
Physalis angulata FAMILY Solanaceae
INCLUDING Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Physalis angulata
INCLUDING Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Physalis pendula
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Physalis angulata
COMMON NAME:
Smooth Ground-cherry, Cutleaf Ground-cherry
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_phan5_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_phpe11_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm190702_9677
July Greenville County SC
Fruiting calyx sunken at base, smooth, typically purple-veined & 10-ribbed, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm190702_9679
July Greenville County SC
Flowers of all Physalis are somewhat bell-shaped and face downward, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
JK Marlow jkm190702_9682
July Greenville County SC
Leaves ovate to lanceolate-ovate, irregularly and coarsely toothed, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm190702_9693
July Greenville County SC
Its distinctly large, sharp teeth differ from other Physalis species in NC, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
Roxanna Martin rlm91309_017
September Spartanburg County SC
)
Roxanna Martin rlm91309_019
September Spartanburg County SC
)
Roxanna Martin rlm9609_072
September Spartanburg County SC
)
Roxanna Martin rlm9609_080
September Spartanburg County SC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Physalis angulata
FAMILY
Solanaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Physalis angulata
FAMILY
Solanaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Physalis angulata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 165-03-004:
Physalis angulata
FAMILY
Solanaceae
INCLUDING
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Physalis angulata
INCLUDING
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Physalis pendula
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Physalis angulata
1074
Forb
Annual
Habitat: Longleaf pine sandhills, disturbed areas, open woodlands, agricultural fields, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Coastal Plain & Carolina Piedmont (uncommon to rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
Leaves have petioles.
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Yellow
Radially symmetrical
5-merous
5-lobed calyx
5-lobed campanulate to subrotate corolla
5 stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
Flowers solitary in leaf axils
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p250
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p337
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p197
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p234
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p150
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".