Family:
Solanaceae
Scientific Name:
Physalis spp
Toxic Parts:
fruits, leaves
Toxins:
tropane alkaloids
Flower Color:
Found:
pastures, woodlands, roadsides, fields

Geographical Distribution

Groundcherries distribution - United States

Groundcherries

Physalis spp

Chinese lantern, Ground cherry, Strawberry tomato, Japanese lantern plant
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Groundcherries (Physalis spp) are herbaceous annual or perennial broadleaf plants which are members of the nightshade family. Flower and fruit color and seed shape vary with species. The characteristic fruit is a distinctive papery husk, often with green or purple veins, surrounds a green, yellowish, or purple fruit, the size of a cherry.

The leaves and unripe fruits of this plant are poisonous, and contain solanine, a type of tropane alkaloid.