Flora of New Zealand Series

tomatillo

Sparsely puberulent annual; stems to c. 60 cm tall, tending to sprawl. Lvs petiolate. Lamina 3-14 × 1.5-10 cm, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, glabrate but margins puberulent, strongly dentate to entire; base cuneate, usually ± obliquely so; apex acute to short-acuminate. Fls solitary. Calyx puberulent on ribs, otherwise glabrous; teeth 2-8 mm long, triangular-acute. Corolla (15)-20-40 mm diam., yellow with purplish brown base; teeth short, obtuse. Anthers c. 2-4 mm long, bluish violet. Fruiting calyx to c. 3 cm diam., 10-ribbed, glabrous. Berry 15-25 mm diam., yellow; flesh sweet. Seeds 1.7-2.3 mm diam., broadly ellipsoid to suborbicular.

N.: N. Auckland and Auckland.

C. America 1981

Mostly on arable land, uncommon, garden escape.

FL Nov-Mar.

P. ixocarpa Hornem. is cultivated occasionally in N.Z. and has often been considered to be conspecific with P. philadelphica, but it has much smaller fls, smaller and straighter anthers and shorter pedicels. However, there is an enormous range of size of lvs and fl. parts in the few wild specimens available, and one specimen (CHR 236613, Warkworth, Rodney Co., Hamilton, 12.3.1972) has lvs and fl. parts the size of those of P. ixocarpa. The general lack of hairiness distinguishes P. philadelphica from the other spp. described here. Tomatillo has been planted more in recent times in the search for new crops, so more wild plants can be expected.