Physalis fendleri

Herbs perennial, rhizomatous, rhizome stout, pubescent, hairs simple, forked, or 3-branched, to 0.5 mm, most branching at base and branches appressed to surface, giving plants a grayish appearance. Stems erect, usually branching from base and most nodes, branches spreading, 0.5–5 dm. Leaves petiolate; petiole 1/3–2/3 blade; blade ovate-lanceolate to ovate, 1–5.5 × 1–3.5 cm, base deltate-truncate to slightly cordate, sometimes unequal, margins sinuate to coarsely and irregularly dentate, teeth few, sometimes only 1 tooth per side near base. Pedicels 3–11(–17) mm, 10–15(–20) mm in fruit. Flowers: calyx 5–8 mm, lobes 2–4 mm; corolla yellow with 5 greenish to brown smudges, campanulate-rotate, (7–)10–12 mm; anthers yellow or purple-tinged, not twisted after dehiscence, 1.5–3 mm. Fruiting calyces loosely enclosing berry, 10-ribbed, 17–30(–35) × 15–25 mm. 2n = 24.

Phenology: Flowering May–Sep.
Habitat: Rocky to sandy soil, loose slopes, pinyon-juniper-ponderosa zones.
Elevation: 1300–2300 m.

Ariz., Calif., Colo., Nev., N.Mex., Okla., Tex., Utah, Mexico (Baja California, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas).

Discussion

In Physalis fendleri, the corolla limb is reflexed at maturity. Some populations in New Mexico have mostly retrorse, and very few branched, hairs. In the flora area, P. fendleri can be found as far west as southern California, northward into southern Nevada, Utah, and Colorado, and eastward into western Oklahoma and Texas.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa