1320 



PHYMATODES 



PHYSALIS 



AA. Lvs. deeply pinnatifid. 



nigrescens, Blunie (Polypbdium nigrescens, Blume). 

 Lvs. 2-3 ft. long, 1 ft. or more broad, cut nearly to the 

 rachis into numerous entire lobes 1-2 in. wide ; surfaces 

 naked, dark green; sori in a single row nearer the mid- 

 rib than the edge, sunk in deep cavities which are promi- 

 nent on the upper side. India to Polynesia. 



glaucum, Kunze (Polypbdium glauc^lm, Kunze). Lvs. 

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

 into entire lobes % in. or more wide, both sides naked, 

 glaucous; veinlets indistinct : sori forming a single 

 row close to the midrib. Philippine Islands. Phlebo- 

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

 cultural form. G.C. III. 23:328, fig. 21. 



L. M. UNDERWOOD. 



PHYSALIS (Greek for bladder, because the thin 

 calyx enlarges and incloses the fr. ). Solanacece. HUSK 

 TOMATO. GROUND CHERRY. Herbs of warm or tem- 

 perate countries, the larger number American. They 

 are variable and therefore confusing to the systematise 



usually with zigzag mostly simple angled pubescent 

 stems: Ivs. ovate, with broad base, angular, the peti- 

 ole widening at the top: fls. whitish, the anthers vel- 

 low: fr. red (sometimes eaten), the ripe large calyx 

 blood-red and very showy. Seems to be native from 

 southeastern Europe to Japan, but now adventive or 

 naturalized in many parts of the world. Gn. 41, p. 577; 

 49, p. 233; 57, pp. 28, 432. The Strawberry Tomato is 

 an old garden plant, grown for its highly colored blad- 

 ders. The plant grows 12-18 in. tall. Of easiest culture. 

 In the North, plants are usually started indoors. It is a 

 perennial, the roots withstanding much frost if pro- 

 tected, but it is usually grown as an annual. Not hardy 

 in the northern states. 



Francheti, Mast. (P. A lkekengi,v&r. Francheti, Hort. ). 

 CHINESE LANTERN PLANT. Differs from P. Alkekengi 

 chiefly in its greater size, making a plant 2 ft. tall and 

 bearing calyxes 2 in. in diam. In his original descrip- 

 tion of the species, Masters (G.C. III. 16, p. 434) makes 

 the following characters: "It differs from P. Alkekengi 

 in being an unbranched annual, not a perennial, with a 

 fibrous root, with erect branches, not creeping at the 

 base, glabrous instead of setose, in its much larger size, 

 in the leaf-stalks being considerably shorter in propor- 

 tion to the blade." Japan. G.C. III. 16:441. Gn. 48, p. 

 435; 49:1059; 57, p. 28; 58, p. 196. G.M. 37:626. 

 J.H. III. 29:343. R.H. 1897:376 and p. 35. E.B. 

 22:61; 23, p. 91. Gt. 45, p. 636; 46, p. 193. 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 



1774. Physalis ixocarpa in its cultivated form 

 (fruits Y.Y*). 



The species number anywhere from 30 to 100 

 or more, depending on the author. The genus 

 is allied to Nicandra, and more remotely to 

 Capsicum, Lycopersicum and others. The flow- 

 ers are usually not showy, and are much like 

 those of Solanum in structure; corolla rotate 

 or short bell-shaped, plicate in the bud, 5-lobed 

 or 5-angled, usually blue or yellowish, borne 

 solitary in the leaf axils; stamens not united 

 or connivent. The calyx greatly enlarges in 

 fruit, becoming a bladder inclosing the 2-loculed mostly 

 yellow or greenish berry. Lvs. alternate, mostly angled 

 and usually distinctly stalked. Most of the species are of 

 little consequence horticulturally, although P. A Ikekengi 

 and P. Francheti are much prized for the glowing red 

 very large calyxes, 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. 

 In most parts of the U. S. 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 usually 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. Usually the 

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

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

 cult, species are long-season plants, and therefore need 

 to be forwarded in the spring. The high* colors of P. 

 Alkekengi and P. Francheti do not develop until the 

 fruit is ripe. Give a warm, sunny exposure. The plants 

 do not withstand frost. Let the plants stand 1-2 ft. 

 apart in the row. 



A. Plants with large red calyxes in fruit. 



Alkekengi, Linn. ALKEKENGI. STRAWBERRY TOMATO. 

 WINTER CHERRY. BLADDER CHERRY. Diffuse grower, 



1775. Physalis pubescens (fruits X 



to England from Japan by James H. Veitch, and first 

 described with a name by Masters in 1894. In 1879, how- 

 ever, it had been described by Franchet, of the Jardin 

 des Plantes, Paris, as a form of P. Alkekengi, but with- 

 out name. The fruits are very brilliant orange-red in 

 the fall. The berry is said to be edible. Some writers 

 describe the plant as perennial. 



AA. Plant with green or yellow or at most only red- 

 veined calyxes. Mostly grown for the edible berry. 



B. Stems glabrous or very nearly so. 

 ixocarpa, Brot. Fig. 1774. Erect, 3 or 4 ft. tall, bear- 

 ing smooth branches and Ivs., the latter thin, ovate or 

 lance-ovate and variously toothed or notched : fls. large 

 and open (% in. or more across), the border bright yel- 

 low and the throat bearing 5 black-brown spots ; anthers 

 purplish : husk purple-veined and entirely filled by the 

 large round, purplish sticky berry, and is sometimes 

 torn open by it. Mexico, and introduced northwards to 

 the northern states. The form in cult., described here, 

 is probably P. capsicifolia, Dun., now regarded by some 

 as a form of the cosmopolitan P. angulata. The writer 

 prefers, however, to refer the plant to P. ixocarpa as 

 outlined in Britton & Brown, although there is doubt as 

 to the identity of the cult, plant with this species. Al- 

 though the cult, plant is sometimes sold as P. ednlis 

 (erroneously), the fruits are usually too mawkish to be 



