Chinese Lantern. Quincula lobata, Potato Or Niteshade Family ( Solanaceae ), Chinese Lantern. Also called: Physalis lobata, Purple Flowered Ground Cherry, Purple Ground Cherry, Purpleflower Groundcherry, Physalis lobata var. albiflora. We wish to thank Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia for some of the information on this page. We share images and information with Wikipedia. Chinese Lantern is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The genus, Quincula is made one species; Quincula lobata, which is commonly known as Chinese Lantern, Lobed Groundcherry, or Purple Groundcherry. Chinese Lantern is sometimes included in genus Physalis. It is native to the southwestern United States as far east as the states of Kansas and Oklahoma, as well as far south as northern Mexico. Chinese Lantern grows in many types of open, dry habitat, including disturbed areas. It is a perennial herb producing ridged, spreading stems up about 20 inches long. They are about 2 - 6 inches high off of the ground. Its lance-shaped leaves are up to 2 1/2 inches long, which are either smooth or lobed on the edges. The flowers blooming from the leaf axils are up to about 7/8 inche wide, they are either widely bell-shaped or flat-faced with five faint, pointed lobes, not drooping like others of the Physalis species. The flowers are purple in color, sometimes with white deep in the throats. The name Chinese Lantern, comes from the fact that the bell-shaped calyx of sepals at the base of the flower enlarges as the fruit develops, becoming an inflated, lanternlike structure up to 7/8 inch long which contains the berry. Quick Notes: Height: Spreading stems up about 20 inches long. They are about 2 - 6 inches high off of the ground. Flowers: Gray - green, alternate, oblong-lanceolate to spatulate or elliptic, 1 1/2 - 4 inches long and 1/4 to 1 inch wide, entire to sinuate to pinnatifid margins, and petioled. Flowering Time: March to November. Leaves: The basal leaves are oblong and form a rosette 2 - 10 inches across. The petioles of the lower leaves are narrowly winged and spiny and the upper leaves are sessile Green leaves pinnately lobed, spiny, up to about 7 inches long. Fruit: The fruit is an achene with a bristly pappus 0.6 to 0.8 inch long. Stems: Normally 1, naked, erect, thinly gray-tomentose, sometimes � glabrate; branches from few - many, usually branching from above the middle, then ascending. Found: Native to the southwestern United States, as well as far south as northern Mexico. ( Sonora, and Baja California ). Hardiness: USDA Zone 3a: to -39.9 �C (-40 �F) USDA Zone 3b: to -37.2 �C (-35 �F) USDA Zone 4a: to -34.4 �C (-30 �F) USDA Zone 4b: to -31.6 �C (-25 �F) USDA Zone 5a: to -28.8 �C (-20 �F) USDA Zone 5b: to -26.1 �C (-15 �F) USDA Zone 6a: to -23.3 �C (-10 �F) USDA Zone 6b: to -20.5 �C (-5 �F) USDA Zone 7a: to -17.7 �C (0 �F) USDA Zone 7b: to -14.9 �C (5 �F) USDA Zone 8a: to -12.2 �C (10 �F) USDA Zone 8b: to -9.4 �C (15 �F) USDA Zone 9a: to -6.6 �C (20 �F) USDA Zone 9b: to -3.8 �C (25 �F) USDA Zone 10a: to -1.1 �C (30 �F) USDA Zone 10b: to 1.7 �C (35 �F) USDA Zone 11: above 4.5 �C (40 �F) Soil pH requirements: 5.6 to 6.0 (acidic) 6.1 to 6.5 (mildly acidic) 6.6 to 7.5 (neutral) 7.6 to 7.8 (mildly alkaline) 7.9 to 8.5 (alkaline) Sun Exposure: Full Sun Elevation: Can be found from 0 - 6,500 Feet. Habitat: Commonly found in sandy washes, gravelly open ground, dry barren places, compacted soil, and along roadsides. Miscellaneous: Flowering Photos Taken At Hillside, Arizona. March 16, 2005.

Click On Any Of The Following Links By Amazon.Com
For Books, & Videos About Wildflowers Of Arizona & The Southwest USA. No Obligation!