2608 



PHYMATODES 



PHYSALIS 



glaucum, Kunze (Polypbdium glaitcum, Kunze). 

 Lvs. 12-18 in. long, 6-8 in. broad, cut down to a winged 

 rachis into entire lobes }/<$&.. or more wide, both sides 

 naked, glaucous; veinlets indistinct: sori forming a 

 single row close to the midrib. Philippine Isls. Phlebo- 

 dium Mayii, Hort. (A.G. 19:455. F.E. 10:600), is a 

 horticultural form with crinkly Ivs. G.C. III. 23:328, 

 fi- l^l. L. M. UNDERWOOD. 



PHYSALIS (Greek for bladder, because the thin 

 calyx enlarges and incloses the 'fruit). Solanacese. HUSK 

 TOMATO. GROUND CHERRY. Herbs of warm and tem- 

 perate countries grown somewhat for the edible fruits 

 and also for the ornament of the great colored 

 fruiting calyx of some species. 



Annual and perennial plants, sometimes 

 lightly woody at base, straggling or diffuse in 

 growth, glabrous or pubescent, summer-flower- 

 ing: Ivs. alternate (often opposite or suboppo- 

 siteon short shoots), mostly angled and distinctly 

 petioled, usually soft in texture: fls. not showy, 

 usually on axillary or extra-axillary peduncles, 

 mostly blue or yellowish or whitish; calyx 5- 

 toothed or -cleft, becoming large and bladder-like 

 and inclosing the 2-celled globular yellow or 

 greenish often more or less viscid berry; corolla rotate 

 or short bell-shaped, usually with purplish spots in the 

 center, plicate, short-tubed and mostly 5-toothed; 

 stamens 5; style slender, the stigma somewhat 2-lobed. 

 Probably 75 species, mostly American, but a few in 

 Eu. and Asia. The species are variable and therefore 

 confusing to the systematist. The genus is allied to 

 Nicandra, and more remotely to Capsicum, Lycopersi- 

 cum and others. 



Most of the species are of little consequence horti- 

 culturally, although P. Alkekengi and P. Franchetii are 

 much prized for the glowing red very large calices, and 

 P. pubescens and P. peruviana are grown for their 

 edible fruits. Several of the species are known for 

 their fruits where they grow in a wild state, and they 

 may sometimes be transferred to gardens. In most 

 parts of the United States and Canada one or more spe- 

 cies grow about gardens, in fields, and in waste places. 

 These species are popularly known as "ground cherry." 

 The fruits are often made into preserves, although they 

 are sometimes eaten raw. The common cultivated 

 species are annuals, or are usually treated as such in 

 this country. They require no extra care. The seeds 

 are sown indoors in the North, in order to secure as 

 much of the crop as possible before frost. Most of the 



A. Plants with large red calices in fr. 



Alkekengi, Linn. ALKEKENGI. STRAWBERRY TOMATO. 



WINTER CHERRY. BLADDER CHERRY. Diffuse grower, 



usually with zigzag mostly simple angled setose 



pubescent sts.: Ivs. ovate, with broad base, angular, 



2933. Physalis ixocarpa in its cultivated form. (Fruits 



cultivated species are long-season plants, and there- 

 fore need to be forwarded in the spring. The high colors 

 of P. Alkekengi and P. Franchetii do not develop until 

 the fruit is ripe; give a warm, sunny exposure; the 

 plants do not withstand frost; let the plants stand 1 to 

 2 feet apart in the row. 



2934. Physalis pubescens. (Fruits 



the petiole widening at the top: fls. whitish, the 

 anthers yellow: fr. red (sometimes eaten), the ripe 

 large calyx blood-red and very showy. Seems to be 

 native from S. E. Eu. to Japan, but now adventive or 

 naturalized in many parts of the world; it represents a 

 variable group, from which different forms may be 

 separated. Gn. 41, p. 577; 49, p. 233; 57, pp. 28, 432. 

 The strawberry tomato is an old garden plant, grown 

 for its highly colored bladders. The plant grows 12-18 

 in. tall. Of easiest cult. In the N., plants are usually 

 started indoors. It is a perennial, the root withstanding 

 much frost if protected, but it is usually grown as an 

 annual. Not hardy in the northern states. 



Franchetii, Mast. (P. Alkekengi var. Franchetii, 

 Hort.). CHINESE LANTERN PLANT. Differs from P. 

 Alkekengi chiefly in its greater size, making a plant 2 

 ft. tall, glabrous, petioles shorter, and bearing calices 

 2 in. diam. : originally described as an annual, by others 

 said to be sometimes biennial, but apparently peren- 

 nial; probably variable in duration. Japan. G.C. III. 

 16:441. Gn. 48, p. 435; 49:232; 57, p. 28; 58, p. 196. 

 G.M. 37:626. J.H. III. 29:343. R.H. 1897:376, and 

 p. 35. R.B. 22:61; 23, p. 91. Gt. 45, p. 636; 46, p. 

 193. G.W. 4, p. 196. A.G. 18:81. F.R. 1:426. One 

 of the most profusely advertised novelties of recent 

 years. It is a most striking and showy plant. It was 

 brought to England from Japan by James H. Veitch, 

 and first described with a name by Masters in 

 1894. In 1879, however, it had been described by 

 Franchet, of the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, as a 

 form of P. Alkekengi, but without name. The 

 frs. are very brilliant orange-red in autumn. 

 The berry is said to be edible. It is very likely a 

 variant of P. Alkekengi. The plant called P. Bun- 

 yardii, Hort., is a very free-fruiting form, not so 

 robust as P. Franchetii, with glowing calices; 

 probably a form of this species or by some sug- 

 gested as a hybrid with P. Alkekengi. 



AA. Plants with green or yellow or at most only red-veined 

 calices. Mostly grown- for the edible berry. 



B. Sts. glabrous or very nearly so. 



ixocSrpa, Brot. TOMATILLO. Fig. 2933. Erect 

 annual, 3 or 4 ft. tall, bearing smooth branches and 

 Ivs., the latter thin, ovate or lance-ovate and variously 

 toothed or notched: fls. large and open (M m - or more 

 across), the border bright yellow and the throat bear- 

 ing 5 black-brown spots; anthers purplish: husk or 

 enlarged calyx purple-veined and entirely filled by the 



