Physalis L.

Solanaceae, Jennifer M Edmonds. Oliganthes, Melongena & Monodolichopus, Maria S. Vorontsova & Sandra Knapp. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2012

Morphology General Habit

Annual or perennial herbs, usually much-branched, sometimes woody basally.

Morphology Stem

Stems sometimes viscid, hairs simple, branched or stellate, glandular or eglandular

Morphology Leaves

Leaves alternate, rarely opposite

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescences axillary, usually composed of a single flower, occasionally 2–4(–7) flowered fascicles; flowers erect to pendent, hermaphrodite

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx campanulate to cupulate, actinomorphic with 5 lobes or 5-partite with short lobes; enlarged and persistent in fruit when basally invaginated

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla broadly campanulate to rotate or funnelform, rarely urceolate, usually actinomorphic, often with dark basal spots and densely pubescent inner ring alternating with stamens internally, margin entire or tube terminating in 5 short lobes

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens 5, usually equal and exserted; filaments fused to lower part of corolla tube where broader, glabrous or sparsely pilose; anthers equal or unequal, oblong, bilobed, basi- or dorsi-fixed, sometimes convergent around stigma

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary

Ovary superior, bilocular, ovules numerous, placentation axile; disc annular, occasionally absent; style filiform, usually glabrous and exserted; stigma discoid-capitate, bilobed

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit a berry, mature pericarp thin and translucent, enclosed by enlarged and inflated accrescent chartaceous usually reticulately-veined bladder-like urceolate calyx which 5-angled or prominently 10-ribbed, sometimes with 5 basal auricles, often brightly coloured, the mouth usually almost completely closed by connivent calyx lobes or teeth

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds numerous, vesicular to foveolate, sclerotic granules absent.

Note

A few species are cultivated world-wide for their ornamental showy calyces, or for their edible berries and they are collectively known as Husk-tomatoes or Ground-cherries. Hepper (in Fl. Ceylon, 4: 391 (1987)) described Physalis as being an extremely puzzling genus of considerable taxonomic and nomenclatural complexity, while Symon (in Journ. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 3(2): 149 (1981)) thought that many of the nomenclatural problems would remain insoluble until African and Asian names and taxa were studied and compared with those in America. Older literature contains numerous synonyms for each of the Physalis species found in the floral region; where the names concerned have not been encountered on any East African material, they have not been included in this treatment. With the exception of P. peruviana, it is often difficult to determine which species is actually being described in many of the Floras cited, and the associated nomenclature is extremely complex. It is clearly a genus in urgent need of worldwide revision.

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit

Herbs, glabrous or with indumentum of simple hairs

Morphology Leaves

Leaves alternate or paired, simple

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers solitary, axillary

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx campanulate, lobed, much enlarged in fruit

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla campanulate to rotate, subentire or lobed

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens included, inserted near base of corolla-tube; anthers dehiscing longitudinally

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary

Ovary 2-celled, with numerous ovules; style slender, stigma capitate

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit a globose berry surrounded by the enlarged calyx

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds flattened, minutely pitted.

Distribution

Genus of some 100 species, the large majority in America.

Flora Zambesiaca. Vol. 8, Part 4. Solanaceae. Gonçalves AE. 2005

Morphology General

Herbs or more rarely shrubs, sometimes sarmentose, glabrous to hairy; indumentum varied and often intermixed, the hairs multicellular (“jointed”) and short, unicellular, simple or occasionally stellate, often glandular or viscid, more rarely branched, also stipitate or sessile glands; rhizomatous structures sometimes present

Morphology Leaves

Leaves solitary, alternate, sometimes 2 or 3 appearing together, one larger than the others, petiolate, entire to coarsely lobed, rarely pinnatifid Leaves solitary, alternate, sometimes 2 or 3 appearing together, one larger than the others, petiolate, entire to coarsely lobed, rarely pinnatifid.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers solitary, extra-axillary or appearing axillary (elsewhere occasionally up to several flowers in small, axillary fascicles or rarely in terminal pseudoracemes), actinomorphic. Flowers solitary, extra-axillary or appearing axillary (elsewhere occasionally up to several flowers in small, axillary fascicles or rarely in terminal pseudoracemes), actinomorphic; pedicel slender, often elongated and drooping or nodding in fruit; bracts obsolete.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pedicel

Pedicel slender, often elongated and drooping or nodding in fruit; bracts obsolete

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx often as long as the corolla tube, campanulate or sometimes tubular-campanulate, 5-lobed to sub-truncate, the lobes if present as long as or shorter than the tube, often splitting at the sutures, conniving at the apex, with valvate aestivation; in fruit much enlarged and usually bladdery-inflated, often splitting at the sutures, loosely enclosing it (or elsewhere nearly so), 5- or 10-angled to -ribbed, sometimes ± terete, reticulate, often invaginated basally, contracted apically with a small opening surrounded by the lobes, remaining membranous or becoming chartaceous Calyx often as long as the corolla tube, campanulate or sometimes tubular-campanulate, 5-lobed to sub-truncate, the lobes if present as long as or shorter than the tube, often splitting at the sutures, conniving at the apex, with valvate aestivation; in fruit much enlarged and usually bladdery-inflated, often splitting at the sutures, loosely enclosing it (or elsewhere nearly so), 5- or 10-angled to -ribbed, sometimes ± terete, reticulate, often invaginated basally, contracted apically with a small opening surrounded by the lobes, remaining membranous or becoming chartaceous.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla yellowish to whitish, often blotched with 5 darker markings, campanulate, rarely infundibular-rotate (or elsewhere shortly infundibular); tube short, ± hairy inside above insertion of stamens and ± glabrous; limb plicate, subentire, sinuate, 5-angled or shortly and widely 5-lobed (to exceptionally 5-parted elsewhere), sometimes ± reflexed; lobes ovate-deltate (to subulate elsewhere), with imbricate-quincuncial aestivation Corolla yellowish to whitish, often blotched with 5 darker markings, campanulate, rarely infundibular-rotate (or elsewhere shortly infundibular); tube short, ± hairy inside above insertion of stamens and ± glabrous; limb plicate, subentire, sinuate, 5-angled or shortly and widely 5-lobed (to exceptionally 5-parted elsewhere), sometimes ± reflexed; lobes ovate-deltate (to subulate elsewhere), with imbricate-quincuncial aestivation.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens 5, mostly ± equal, usually inserted near the base of the corolla tube, ± included or slightly exserted; filaments slender (to nearly as wide as the anthers elsewhere), often ± straight, pubescent or glabrous; anthers oblong or linear-oblong to ovate in outline, straight or occasionally twisting and curling after anthesis, free or sometimes conniving, attached on the lower part of the back or at the base between the thecae, dehiscing by longitudinal slits Stamens 5, mostly ± equal, usually inserted near the base of the corolla tube, ± included or slightly exserted; filaments slender (to nearly as wide as the anthers elsewhere), often ± straight, pubescent or glabrous; anthers oblong or linear-oblong to ovate in outline, straight or occasionally twisting and curling after anthesis, free or sometimes conniving, attached on the lower part of the back or at the base between the thecae, dehiscing by longitudinal slits.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc

Disk annular, adnate to and surrounding the basal part of the ovary, to none Disk annular, adnate to and surrounding the basal part of the ovary, to none.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary

Ovary 2-locular; ovules hemicampylotropous, few–numerous in each locule on a much enlarged, subglobose placenta adnate to the dissepiment near the axis.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style

Style slender to stout.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Stigma

Stigma capitate to nearly truncate, sometimes 2-lobed to -lamellate, included or exserted

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit baccaceous, mostly ± globose, sessile or sometimes on a short gynobase, juicy or fleshy, often thin-walled, sometimes viscid, 2-locular Fruit baccaceous, mostly ± globose, sessile or sometimes on a short gynobase, juicy or fleshy, often thin-walled, sometimes viscid, 2-locular.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds few–numerous, flattened, laterally compressed, suborbicular to reniform; testa somewhat leathery, slightly rugose or smooth, glabrous; embryo ± circinnate, flattened, subperipheral, in a fleshy or horny endosperm, with a terete radicle as wide as the semi-terete cotyledons Seeds few–numerous, flattened, laterally compressed, suborbicular to reniform; testa somewhat leathery, slightly rugose or smooth, glabrous; embryo ± circinnate, flattened, subperipheral, in a fleshy or horny endosperm, with a terete radicle as wide as the semi-terete cotyledons.

Distribution

Genus with c. 90 species, mostly centred in the warm regions of America mainly in Mexico; widely distributed in warm and temperate regions of the Old World and Australia, with several species introduced and a few widespread as weeds or in cultivation; 7 s

Morphology General Habit

Herbs or more rarely shrubs, sometimes sarmentose, glabrous to hairy; indumentum varied and often intermixed, the hairs multicellular (“jointed”) and short, unicellular, simple or occasionally stellate, often glandular or viscid, more rarely branched, also stipitate or sessile glands; rhizomatous structures sometimes present.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Ovary 2-locular; ovules hemicampylotropous, few–numerous in each locule on a much enlarged, subglobose placenta adnate to the dissepiment near the axis; style slender to stout; stigma capitate to nearly truncate, sometimes 2-lobed to -lamellate, included or exserted.