Physalis peruviana L.
cape gooseberry
Annual or short-lived, sprawling or spreading perennial, (15)-20-150-(200) cm tall, densely hairy. Lvs petiolate. Lamina 5-16-(20) × 3-10-(17) cm, usually broadly ovate, entire or slightly sinuate-dentate; base subcordate or cordate; apex acuminate. Fls solitary. Calyx densely hairy outside; teeth 3-5 mm long, narrow-triangular, acuminate. Corolla 15-22 mm diam., pale yellow with purplish patch towards base; teeth very shallow, ± acute. Anthers 3-3.5 mm long, violet. Fruiting calyx 3-5 cm long, 10-ribbed, hairy. Berry 10-20 mm diam., orange; flesh sweet. Seed 1.5-2 mm diam., broadly oblong-ellipsoid.
N.; S.: scattered throughout warmer areas, especially in the North Id where it is locally common; K.: Raoul Id.
Tropical S. America 1843
Open habitats such as roadsides, waste places, beaches, freshwater mudflats and cultivated ground.
FL Jan-Dec.
The golden berries of the cape gooseberry are eaten and dispersed by animals and human beings. The sp. was an early escape from cultivation here as in many other countries and is still widely cultivated. It has been known as P. edulis and P. pubescens in N.Z.
