370 SOLANACEAE (NIGHTSHADE FAMILY) 
elongates, becomes thin and much inflated, ten-ribbed, netted 
with purple veins, quite enclosing the two-celled, globular berry, 
the five triangular teeth meeting at the tip; often the envelope 
is ruptured by the swelling fruit, or “cherry,” which is purplish 
red, nearly an inch in diameter, with a sweet and somewhat sticky 
pulp, in which many flattened, yellowish brown seeds are em- 
bedded. 
Means of control 
Prevent seed development by closely cutting or pulling the plants 
while in early bloom. 
LOW HAIRY GROUND CHERRY 
Physalis pubéscens, L. 
Other English names: Bladder Cherry, Dwarf Cape Gooseberry, 
Husk Tomato, Strawberry Tomato. 
Native. Annuai. Propagates by seeds. 
Time of bloom: July to September. 
Seed-time: Late August to November. 
Range: Pennsylvania to California, southward to Florida and 
Mexico. 
Habitat: Sandy soils; fields, meadows, pastures, waste places. 
Frequently cultivated at the North, but in the Southern States 
often obnoxiously plentiful as a weed. Stem slender, angled, hairy, 
decumbent at base, widely branching, seldom rising more than a 
foot above the ground but often extending for a yard or more in all 
directions. Leaves thin, long ovate, pointed, wavy-edged or entire, 
rounded or abruptly narrowed at base, the veins and petioles usu- 
ally hairy. Flowers less than a half-inch broad, pale yellow with 
brown-spotted throat, the five-lobed calyx at first short and hairy 
but becoming thin, membranous, and nearly smooth as it enlarges 
and envelops the growing fruit; the more prominent ribs form a 
ring of small knobs around its peduncle. The berry within is yel- 
low, about a half-inch in diameter, not sticky like that of the 
Tomatillo, but more pleasant to the taste, being slightly acid. 
Means of control the same as for the preceding species. 
