Physalis pumila
Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 5: 193. 1836.
Herbs perennial, rhizomatous, rhizomes deeply buried, stout, hispid, hairs simple or 2- or 3-branched, divergent and antrorse, jointed, 0.5–2 mm. Stems erect to decumbent, branching at most nodes or infrequently and only at distal nodes, branches ascending, 1.5–4 dm. Leaves petiolate; petiole 1/10–2/5 blade; blade elliptic-ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 3–8(–10) × 2–4(–5) cm, base rounded to attenuate and narrowing to petiole, margins entire to sinuate, rarely shallowly, irregularly sinuate-dentate. Pedicels hispid, 8–46 mm, 15–55 mm in fruit. Flowers: calyx 6–12 mm, lobes 2.5–6 mm; corolla yellow with pale brown, ochre, or green tinge or smudges, campanulate-rotate, 9–17 mm; anthers yellow, rarely blue-tinged, not twisted after dehiscence, 1–3 mm. Fruiting calyces loosely enclosing berry, 10-ribbed, 20–40 × 15–30 mm. 2n = 24.
Distribution
c, sc United States.
Discussion
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
Varieties hispida and pumila are quite distinctive in the field but are often difficult to distinguish in the herbarium.
Selected References
None.
Key
1 | Stems erect; plants hispid throughout, hairs simple and 2- or 3-branched. | Physalis pumila var. pumila |
1 | Stems erect to decumbent; plants hispid on pedicels and calyx, hairs simple, rarely with a few branched hairs. | Physalis pumila var. hispida |