Herbs, annual or perennial, from fleshy or subligneous taproot, variously pubescent. Stems erect or ascending, branched, (stems and branches striate, sometimes angled). Leaves alternate or geminate. Inflorescences axillary, solitary flowers or clusters of 2–4. Flowers 5-merous; calyx accrescent, campanulate, lobes 5, broadly triangular, exceeding or just shorter than berry, not inflated in fruit; corolla cream-white to pale yellow, radial, rotate, weakly lobed; stamens inserted near base of corolla throat, equal, (shorter than style); anthers basifixed, oblong, dehiscing by longitudinal slits; ovary 2-carpellate; style slender, straight, slightly curved; stigma blunt. Fruits berries, globose to ovoid, fleshy. Seeds flattened, reniform. x = 12.

Distribution

North America.

Discussion

Species 2 (2 in the flora).

Leucophysalis consists of two species: L. grandiflora occurring from Alberta to Quebec and adjacent states in the United States and L. nana occurring in California, Nevada, and Oregon. The northern distribution is unusual among related Solanaceae.

The relationships of the two species and of the genus were more fully discussed by J. E. Averett (2009).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

Leucophysalis grandiflora, Leucophysalis nana

Key

1	Plants annual, erect, 3–9 dm; stems pubescent, hairs glandular and simple; fruiting calyces exceeding berries.	Leucophysalis grandiflora
1	Plants perennial, spreading, mounds to 2.5 dm; stems strigose-hispidulous; fruiting calyces not or rarely exceeding berries.	Leucophysalis nana