Taxon:  Physalis peruviana L.



Summary
Genus:
Physalis
Family:
Solanaceae
Subfamily:
Solanoideae
Tribe:
Physaleae
Subtribe:
Physalinae
Nomen number:
102390
Place of publication:
Sp. pl. ed. 2, 2:1670.  1763
Verified:
10/02/1995 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
41 (6  active, 3  available) in National Plant Germplasm System.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Physalis edulis Sims

No images


Conservation Status

Reference(s)
  1. University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
  2. Agnew, A. D. Q. 1974. Upland Kenya wild flowers: a flora of the ferns and herbaceous flowering plants of upland Kenya.
  3. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
  4. APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
  5. Babu, C. R. 1977. Herbaceous flora of Dehra Dun.
  6. Backer, C. A. & R. C. Bakhuizen van den Brink, Jr. 1963-1968. Flora of Java.
  7. Berdugo C., J. A. et al. 2015. Variabilidad genética de parentales y poblaciones F1 inter e intraespecíficas de Physalis peruviana L. y P. floridana Rydb. Revista Brasil. Frutic. 37:179-192. Note: it examined wild and cultivated plants
  8. Black, J. M. 1943-1957. Flora of Southern Australia, ed. 2.
  9. Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
  10. Chacón S., M. I. et al. 2016. Genetic structure of a Colombian cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.) collection by means of microsatellite markers. Agron. Colomb. 34:5-16.
  11. Cufodontis, G. 1953-1972. Enumeratio plantarum aethiopiae: Spermatophyta.
  12. Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
  13. Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
  14. Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen
  15. Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
  16. Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
  17. Facciola, S. 1990. Cornucopia, a source book of edible plants Kampong Publications.
  18. Figueiredo, E. & G. F. Smith. 2008. Plants of Angola. Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
  19. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
  20. George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
  21. Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
  22. Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. 1984-. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim.
  23. Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
  24. Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
  25. Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
  26. Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
  27. Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
  28. IPGRI. New World Fruits Database (on-line resource).
  29. Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
  30. Izquierdo, J. & W. Roca. 1998. Under-utilized Andean food crops: Status and prospects of plant biotechnology for the conservation and sustainable agricultural use of genetic resources. Acta Hort. 457:157-171. Note: mentions
  31. Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
  32. Kingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada.
  33. Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
  34. Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
  35. Liberato G., S. A. et al. 2014. Citogenética de genotipos de uchuva, Physalis peruviana L., y Physalis floridana Rydb., con respuesta diferencial a Fusarium oxysporum. Corpoica cienc. tecnol. agropecu. 15:51-61. Note: it examined diploid (2n=24) and tetraploids (4n=48)
  36. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
  37. Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
  38. Merrill, E. D. 1922-1926. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants.
  39. Missouri Botanical Garden. W³Tropicos (on-line resource).
  40. Munro, D. B. Canadian poisonous plants information system (on-line resource).
  41. Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
  42. Nuez, F. et al. 1993. Recolección de especies hortícolas en Ecuador. Pl. Genet. Resources Newslett. 96:29-33.
  43. Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
  44. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
  45. Ramírez, F. et al. 2013. Cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.) phenology according to the BBCH phenological scale. Sci. Hort. 162:39-42.
  46. Rehm, S. & G. Espig. 1991. The cultivated plants of the tropics and subtropics
  47. Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
  48. Sell, P. & G. Murrell. 1996-. Flora of Great Britain and Ireland.
  49. Sudhakaran, S. & A. Ganapathi. 1999. Biosystematics of South Indian Physalis. In: Nee, M. et al., eds., Solanaceae IV: advances in biology and utilization 335-340.
  50. Terrell, E. E. et al. 1986. Agricultural Handbook no. 505
  51. Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia.
  52. Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
  53. Verheij, E. W. M. & R. E. Coronel, eds. 1991. Edible fruits and nuts. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 2:254.
  54. Vietmeyer, N. D., ed. 1989. Lost crops of the Incas.
  55. Walker, E. 1976. Flora of Okinawa and the southern Ryukyu Islands.
  56. Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
  57. Whitson, M. & P. S. Manos. 2005. Untangling Physalis (Solanaceae) from the Physaloids: a two-gene phylogeny of the Physaloids. Syst. Bot. 30:216-230. www.aspt.net/systematic-botany
  58. Willis, J. H. 1970-1972. A handbook to plants in Victoria.
  59. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
  60. Zamora-Tavares, M. del P. et al. 2016. Physalis and the physaloids: a recent and complex evolutionary history. Molec. Phylogenet. Evol. 100:41-50.
Common names
LanguageNameAlternate namenoteseqCitation
EnglishCape-gooseberry  1Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Englishgoldenberry  1Vietmeyer, N. D., ed. 1989. Lost crops of the Incas.
Englishgooseberry-tomato  1Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
EnglishPeruvian ground-cherry  1Terrell, E. E. et al. 1986. Agricultural Handbook no. 505
EnglishPeruvian-cherry  1Terrell, E. E. et al. 1986. Agricultural Handbook no. 505
Frenchcapuli  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Frenchcoqueret du Peru  2Nuez, F. et al. 1993. Recolección de especies hortícolas en Ecuador. Pl. Genet. Resources Newslett. 96:29-33.
GermanAndenkirsche  2Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen
GermanKapstachelbeere  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Germanperuanische Judenkirsche  2Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen
Portuguesegroselha-do-Peru  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Portuguese (Brazil)bate-testa  2Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)camapú  2Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)erva-noiva-do-peru  2Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)physalis  2Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Spanishalquequenje  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanishcapulí  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish (Colombia)uchuva  2Chacón S., M. I. et al. 2016. Genetic structure of a Colombian cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.) collection by means of microsatellite markers. Agron. Colomb. 34:5-16.
Spanish (Ecuador)uvilla  2Nuez, F. et al. 1993. Recolección de especies hortícolas en Ecuador. Pl. Genet. Resources Newslett. 96:29-33.
Spanish (Peru)aguaymanto  2Izquierdo, J. & W. Roca. 1998. Under-utilized Andean food crops: Status and prospects of plant biotechnology for the conservation and sustainable agricultural use of genetic resources. Acta Hort. 457:157-171. Note: mentions
Swedishkapkrusbär  2Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNoteReference
1NativeSouthern AmericaNorthern South AmericaVenezuela   
1NativeSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaBolivia   
1NativeSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaColombia  Ramírez, F. et al. 2013. Cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.) phenology according to the BBCH phenological scale. Sci. Hort. 162:39-42.
1NativeSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaEcuador   
1NativeSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaPeru  Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
2Cultivated    widely cult. 
4NaturalizedAfricaEast Tropical AfricaKenya  Agnew, A. D. Q. 1974. Upland Kenya wild flowers: a flora of the ferns and herbaceous flowering plants of upland Kenya.
4NaturalizedAfricaMacaronesiaPortugalAzores Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
4NaturalizedAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaEritrea  Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
4NaturalizedAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaEthiopia  Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
4NaturalizedAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaSomalia  Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia.
4NaturalizedAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaAngola  Figueiredo, E. & G. F. Smith. 2008. Plants of Angola. Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4NaturalizedAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaMalawi  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
4NaturalizedAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaMozambique  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
4NaturalizedAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaZambia  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
4NaturalizedAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaZimbabwe  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
4NaturalizedAfricaSouthern AfricaBotswana  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
4NaturalizedAfricaSouthern AfricaEswatini  Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4NaturalizedAfricaSouthern AfricaLesotho  Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4NaturalizedAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth Africa  Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4NaturalizedAfricaWest Tropical AfricaGhana  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
4NaturalizedAfricaWest Tropical AfricaNigeria  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
4NaturalizedAfricaWest Tropical AfricaSierra Leone  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
4NaturalizedAfricaWest-Central Tropical AfricaCameroon  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
4NaturalizedAfricaWestern Indian OceanReunion  Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateChinaChina  Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateEastern AsiaJapan  Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentBhutan  Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. 1984-. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim.
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia  Sudhakaran, S. & A. Ganapathi. 1999. Biosystematics of South Indian Physalis. In: Nee, M. et al., eds., Solanaceae IV: advances in biology and utilization 335-340.
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentNepal  Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. 1984-. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim.
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentSri Lanka  Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalMalesiaIndonesia  Backer, C. A. & R. C. Bakhuizen van den Brink, Jr. 1963-1968. Flora of Java.
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalMalesiaPhilippines  Merrill, E. D. 1922-1926. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants.
4NaturalizedAustralasiaAustraliaAustralia  Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
4NaturalizedAustralasiaNew ZealandNew Zealand   
4NaturalizedEuropeMiddle EuropeAustria  Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
4NaturalizedEuropeNorthern EuropeIreland  Sell, P. & G. Murrell. 1996-. Flora of Great Britain and Ireland.
4NaturalizedEuropeNorthern EuropeUnited Kingdom  Sell, P. & G. Murrell. 1996-. Flora of Great Britain and Ireland.
4NaturalizedEuropeSoutheastern EuropeItaly  Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
4NaturalizedEuropeSoutheastern EuropeSlovenia  Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4NaturalizedEuropeSouthwestern EuropeSpain  Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
4NaturalizedPacificNorth-Central PacificUnited StatesHawaii Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4NaturalizedPacificSouth-Central PacificFrench Polynesia  Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4NaturalizedPacificSouthwestern PacificFiji  Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4NaturalizedPacificSouthwestern PacificNew Caledonia  Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4NaturalizedPacificSouthwestern PacificNiue  Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4NaturalizedPacificSouthwestern PacificTonga  Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaCaribbeanWest Indies   
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaEcuadorGalápagos Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
Native
Southern America
  • NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Venezuela
  • WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
Cultivated (widely cult.)
Naturalized
Africa
  • MACARONESIA: Portugal [Azores]
  • NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia
  • EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya
  • WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Cameroon
  • WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone
  • SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
  • SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, South Africa
  • WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Reunion
Asia-Temperate
  • CHINA: China
  • EASTERN ASIA: Japan
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Bhutan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal
  • MALESIA: Indonesia, Philippines
Australasia
  • AUSTRALIA: Australia
  • NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand
Europe
  • NORTHERN EUROPE: United Kingdom, Ireland
  • MIDDLE EUROPE: Austria
  • SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Italy, Slovenia
  • SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain
Pacific
  • NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]
  • SOUTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: French Polynesia
  • SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Fiji, New Caledonia, Niue, Tonga
Southern America
  • CARIBBEAN: West Indies
  • WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Ecuador [Galápagos]

Reference(s)
  1. Agnew, A. D. Q. 1974. Upland Kenya wild flowers: a flora of the ferns and herbaceous flowering plants of upland Kenya.
  2. Backer, C. A. & R. C. Bakhuizen van den Brink, Jr. 1963-1968. Flora of Java.
  3. Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
  4. Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
  5. Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
  6. Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
  7. Figueiredo, E. & G. F. Smith. 2008. Plants of Angola. Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
  8. Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
  9. Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. 1984-. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim.
  10. Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
  11. Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
  12. Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
  13. Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
  14. Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
  15. Merrill, E. D. 1922-1926. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants.
  16. Ramírez, F. et al. 2013. Cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.) phenology according to the BBCH phenological scale. Sci. Hort. 162:39-42.
  17. Sell, P. & G. Murrell. 1996-. Flora of Great Britain and Ireland.
  18. Sudhakaran, S. & A. Ganapathi. 1999. Biosystematics of South Indian Physalis. In: Nee, M. et al., eds., Solanaceae IV: advances in biology and utilization 335-340.
  19. Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia.
  20. Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
  21. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Environmentalornamental Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
Environmentalornamental Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Human foodfruit Nuez, F. et al. 1993. Recolección de especies hortícolas en Ecuador. Pl. Genet. Resources Newslett. 96:29-33.
Human foodfruit Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Medicinesfolklore Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Vertebrate poisonsmammals Kingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada.
Weed  Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=102390. Accessed 4 May 2026.