Physalis walteri Nutt.
Groundcherry
Kingdom Plantae Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom Tracheobionta Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division Magnoliophyta Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class Magnoliopsida Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass Asteridae A large class that encompasses asters
Order Solanales Potatoes, eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, tobacco, petunias, sweet potatoes, morning glories, many others
Family Solanaceae Nightshade or potato family
Genus Physalis From the Greek physalis, “a bladder or bubble,” because of the inflated calyx
Species walteri For Thomas Walter, an 18th century South Carolina botanist (not confirmed)
About plant names...
This tomato relative is native to the southeastern United States. It is
found on beach dunes and back dunes, in longleaf pine flatwoods, turkey oak sandridges, sandy banks bordering salt marshes, longleaf pine/wiregrass uplands, and slash pine flatwoods, in loamy sand and calcerous soils.
Plants: 6-24″ (15-60 cm) in height.
Leaves: Ovate to elliptic
Flowers: Funnel-shaped, yellow, fuzzy, hanging downward, appearing May-Sep, peaking in Jun.
Fruits: Flowers become a
papery husk resembling a Chinese lantern. Each husk encloses a single, edible fruit ¾-1″ (2-3 cm) in size,
which, when ripe, is
orange to golden yellow.
Edibility: Fruits are edible raw or cooked. Unripe (light green) or
bitter-tasting fruit
is toxic, and the husk enclosing the fruit is not edible.
Online References:
Florida.plantatlas.usf.edu
Www.eattheweeds.com On edibility
Www.wildsouthflorida.com
Coastalplainplants.org
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
SEINet—the Southwest Environmental Information Network
4/15/2015 · Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Trail, Florida · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm)
4/15/2015 · Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Trail, Florida · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (16 × 11 cm)
4/15/2015 · Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Trail, Florida · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 16 cm)
Older scientific or horticultural names
Physalis elliottii Kuntze
Physalis maritima M.A. Curtis
Physalis viscosa L. var. elliottii (Kuntze) Waterf.
Physalis viscosa L. ssp. maritima (M.A. Curtis) Waterf.
Physalis viscosa L. var. maritima (M.A. Curtis) Rydb.
Physalis walteri description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.
© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.
4/15/2015 · Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Trail, Florida · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm)
4/15/2015 · Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Trail, Florida · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm)
4/15/2015 · Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Trail, Florida · ≈ 8 × 12″ (21 × 31 cm)
4/15/2015 · Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Trail, Florida · ≈ 6 × 8″ (14 × 20 cm)
Range:
About this map...
Home   
Species