Physalis viscosa
Encyclopedia
Physalis viscosa is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family
known by many common names, including starhair groundcherry and grape groundcherry in English
, and arrebenta-cavalo, balãozinho, and camambú in Portuguese
. 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.
This is a rhizomatous
perennial herb producing hairy stem up to about 40 centimeters in maximum height. The oval leaves are 3 to 5 centimeters long and have smooth or toothed edges. The flowers blooming from the leaf axils are bell-shaped and about 1.5 centimeters wide. They are yellow with darker centers, and have five stamen
s tipped with yellow anthers. The calyx of sepal
s at the base of the flower enlarges as the fruit develops, becoming an inflated, ribbed, lanternlike structure 2 to 3 centimeters long which contains the berry
.
Solanaceae
Solanaceae are a family of flowering plants that include a number of important agricultural crops as well as many toxic plants. The name of the family comes from the Latin Solanum "the nightshade plant", but the further etymology of that word is unclear...
known by many common names, including starhair groundcherry and grape groundcherry in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, and arrebenta-cavalo, balãozinho, and camambú in Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
. It is native to South America, and it is known on other continents as an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
and sometimes a weed
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...
. It can grow in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas.
This is a rhizomatous
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
perennial herb producing hairy stem up to about 40 centimeters in maximum height. The oval leaves are 3 to 5 centimeters long and have smooth or toothed edges. The flowers blooming from the leaf axils are bell-shaped and about 1.5 centimeters wide. They are yellow with darker centers, and have five stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s tipped with yellow anthers. The calyx of sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s at the base of the flower enlarges as the fruit develops, becoming an inflated, ribbed, lanternlike structure 2 to 3 centimeters long which contains the berry
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
.