Physalis pruinosa

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Physalis pruinosa
Physalis pruinosa habit.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Genus: Physalis
Species:
P. pruinosa
Binomial name
Physalis pruinosa
L.

Physalis pruinosa is a plant in the genus Physalis in the nightshade family Solanaceae, often referred to as ground cherry or husk tomato. It is a native species in a range extending from northern Mexico through Central America. [1] The plant has a low, spreading habit, and fruits develop in a papery husk, as is characteristic of the genus. While most parts of the plant are toxic to humans due to the presence of solanine and solanidine, [2] the fruit becomes edible (and sweet) once it has ripened to yellow. (The papery husk, a calyx, remains toxic and should not be eaten.) The fruit's flavor is similar in some respects to that of a ripe tomatillo, but notably has a strong flavor of pineapple as well, a fact reflected in the name of a common commercial variety, "Cossack Pineapple". The ripe fruit of Physalis pruinosa var. argentinaJ. M. Toledo & Barboza is a food source for the Pilagá ethnic group. [3]

It is currently the subject of research into the possibility of developing a genetically modified variety for industrialized agriculture. [4] The research involves CRISPR genome editing which may be able to accelerate the domestication process. [5]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomatillo</span> Species of plant

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<i>Physalis</i> Genus of flowering plants

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<i>Physalis peruviana</i> Species of cultivated South American fruit

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strawberry</span> Edible fruit

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<i>Physalis longifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Quincula</i> Genus of flowering plants

Quincula is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The sole species it contains, Quincula lobata, is commonly known as Chinese lantern, lobed groundcherry, or purple groundcherry.

<i>Physalis pubescens</i> Species of fruit and plant

Physalis pubescens is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family known by many common names, including husk tomato, low ground-cherry and hairy groundcherry in English, and muyaca and capulí in Spanish. It is native from Brazil, but also found in southern half of the United States, Mexico, Central and much of South America. It can be found elsewhere as an introduced species and sometimes a weed. It can grow in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas. This is an annual herb producing a glandular, densely hairy stem up to about 60 cm (24 in) in maximum height from a taproot. The oval or heart-shaped leaves are 3–9 cm (1.2–3.5 in) long and have smooth or toothed edges. The flowers blooming from the leaf axils are bell-shaped and about a centimeter long. They are yellow with five dark spots in the throats, and have five stamens tipped with blue anthers. The five-lobed calyx of sepals at the base of the flower enlarges as the fruit develops, becoming an inflated, ribbed, lanternlike structure 2–4 cm (0.79–1.57 in) long which contains the berry.

<i>Physalis viscosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Physalis viscosa is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family known by many common names, including starhair groundcherry, stellate ground-cherry and grape groundcherry in English, and arrebenta-cavalo, balãozinho, and camambú in Portuguese and Spanish. It is native to South America, and it is known on other continents as an introduced species and sometimes a weed. It can grow in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas.

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<i>Physalis virginiana</i> Species of flowering plant

Physalis virginiana, the Virginia groundcherry, is a rhizomatous perennial with a deeply buried stem base. It is found mostly in eastern North America as far west as Wyoming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solanaceae</span> Family of flowering plants that includes tomatoes, potatoes and tobacco

The Solanaceae, or the nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and ornamentals. Many members of the family contain potent alkaloids, and some are highly toxic, but many—including tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, bell and chili peppers—are used as food. The family belongs to the order Solanales, in the asterid group and class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons). The Solanaceae consists of about 98 genera and some 2,700 species, with a great diversity of habitats, morphology and ecology.

Physalis latiphysa is a herbaceous plant that grows to a height of 30 to 45 cm. The shoot axis is densely hairy with multicellular, glandular trichomes. The leaves are silky and hairy, 5.5 to 16.0 cm long, with petioles 2.5 to 7.5 cm and leaf blades 3.0 to 8.5 cm. The leaf blade has a width of 1.5 to 7.0 cm, the tip is tapering, the base is blunt, rarely skewed by up to 3 mm. The leaf margin is entire or rarely serrated with up to four teeth per side.

Physalis grisea is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family known by common names including strawberry ground-cherry, downy ground-cherry, and strawberry-tomato in English. The name downy ground-cherry is due to the soft hairs that give the plant a gray cast. This downy gray coloration is the origin of the specific epithet grisea. Physalis grisea is native to northeastern North America.

<i>Alkekengi</i> Species of edible flowering plant native to Eurasia

Alkekengi officinarum, the bladder cherry, Chinese lantern, Japanese-lantern, strawberry groundcherry, winter cherry, alchechengi berry, or Klabuster cherry is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is a close relative of the new world Calliphysalis carpenteri and a somewhat more distant relative to the members of the Physalis genus. This species is native to the regions covering Southern Europe to South Asia and Northeast Asia.

References

  1. USDA National Plant Germplasm System
  2. Ground Cherry Ripeness, answers from a Hennepin County Master Gardener, July 13, 2019
  3. Arenas, Pastor; Kamienkowski, Nicolás Martín (December 2013). "Ethnobotany of the Genus Physalis L. (Solanaceae) in the South American Gran Chaco". Candollea. 68 (2): 251–266. doi:10.15553/c2012v682a9. hdl: 11336/8358 . ISSN   0373-2967.
  4. "This Wild Plant Could Be the Next Strawberry", Research News release, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, October 1, 2018
  5. Dockrill, Peter. "Meet The Weird Fruit That Could Soon Become as Common as a Strawberry". ScienceAlert. Retrieved 2018-10-02.