Clammy Ground Cherry

(Physalis heterophylla)

 

   

 

 

Color Photograph: NRCS Plants Database, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Clammy Ground Cherry (Physalis heterophylla Nees)

Identification: Flower yellow with a dark center, bell-shaped, and hanging. Flower relatively large (greater than 1 cm. in diameter). Fruit a yellow berry enclosed in a papery sack. Stem with sticky hairs. Leaves hairy, heart-shaped with a broad base. Outer margin with coarse, blunted teeth. Plant usually erect, 1 to 3 feet in height.

Distribution: Throughout most of North America except in the California region.

Habitat: Clammy Ground Cherry is found in dry woods and clearings.

Flowering period: June to September.

Similar Species: The sticky hairs on the stem and the broad base of the leaves should identify this species of Physalis.

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