Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry, Physalis crassifolia. Photo Taken At Yarnell, Arizona. 4,886 Feet Elevation. September 9, 2013. Growing In Burned Over Yard, In Glen Ilah. After Yarnell Forest Fire On June 30, 2013. |
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Leaves. Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry, Physalis crassifolia. Photo Taken At Yarnell, Arizona. 4,886 Feet Elevation. September 9, 2013. Growing In Burned Over Yard, In Glen Ilah. After Yarnell Forest Fire On June 30, 2013. | Flower. Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry, Physalis crassifolia. Photo Taken At Yarnell, Arizona. 4,886 Feet Elevation. September 9, 2013. Growing In Burned Over Yard, In Glen Ilah. After Yarnell Forest Fire On June 30, 2013. |
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Unripe Fruits & Husks. Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry, Physalis crassifolia. Photo Taken At Yarnell, Arizona. 4,886 Feet Elevation. September 9, 2013. Growing In Burned Over Yard, In Glen Ilah. After Yarnell Forest Fire On June 30, 2013. | Unripe Fruit & Husk. Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry, Physalis crassifolia. Photo Taken At Yarnell, Arizona. 4,886 Feet Elevation. September 9, 2013. Growing In Burned Over Yard, In Glen Ilah. After Yarnell Forest Fire On June 30, 2013. |
Many Unripe Fruits & Husks On One Plant. Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry, Physalis crassifolia. Photo Taken At Yarnell, Arizona. 4,886 Feet Elevation. September 19, 2013. Growing In Burned Over Yard, In Glen Ilah. After Yarnell Forest Fire On June 30, 2013. | Many Ripe Fruits & Husks On One Plant. Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry, Physalis crassifolia. Photo Taken At Yarnell, Arizona. 4,886 Feet Elevation. October 14, 2013. Growing In Burned Over Yard, In Glen Ilah. After Yarnell Forest Fire On June 30, 2013. |
Open Unripe Fruit & Husk. Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry, Physalis crassifolia. Photo Taken At Yarnell, Arizona. 4,886 Feet Elevation. September 19, 2013. Growing In Burned Over Yard, In Glen Ilah. After Yarnell Forest Fire On June 30, 2013. | Open Unripe Fruit & Husk. Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry, Physalis crassifolia. Photo Taken At Yarnell, Arizona. 4,886 Feet Elevation. September 19, 2013. Growing In Burned Over Yard, In Glen Ilah. After Yarnell Forest Fire On June 30, 2013. |
Almost Ripe Fruit Husk. Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry, Physalis crassifolia. Photo Taken At Yarnell, Arizona. 4,886 Feet Elevation. September 28, 2013. Growing In Burned Over Yard, In Glen Ilah. After Yarnell Forest Fire On June 30, 2013. | Almost Ripe Fruit & Husk. Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry, Physalis crassifolia. Photo Taken At Yarnell, Arizona. 4,886 Feet Elevation. September 28, 2013. Growing In Burned Over Yard, In Glen Ilah. After Yarnell Forest Fire On June 30, 2013. |
Ripe Fruit. Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry, Physalis crassifolia. Photo Taken At Yarnell, Arizona. 4,886 Feet Elevation. October 14, 2013. Growing In Burned Over Yard, In Glen Ilah. After Yarnell Forest Fire On June 30, 2013. | Ripe Fruit. Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry, Physalis crassifolia. Photo Taken At Yarnell, Arizona. 4,886 Feet Elevation. October 14, 2013. Growing In Burned Over Yard, In Glen Ilah. After Yarnell Forest Fire On June 30, 2013. |
Over Ripe Fruit. Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry, Physalis crassifolia. Photo Taken At Yarnell, Arizona. 4,886 Feet Elevation. October 14, 2013. Growing In Burned Over Yard, In Glen Ilah. After Yarnell Forest Fire On June 30, 2013. | Over Ripe Fruit & Seeds. Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry, Physalis crassifolia. Photo Taken At Yarnell, Arizona. 4,886 Feet Elevation. October 14, 2013. Growing In Burned Over Yard, In Glen Ilah. After Yarnell Forest Fire On June 30, 2013. |
Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry.
We wish to thank Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia for some of the information on this page. We donate to, share images, and information with Wikipedia. Physalis crassifolia is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family ( Solanaceae ), known by the common names Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry, Thick-leaf Ground-cherry, Groundcherry, Yellow Groundcherry, Desert Groundcherry, & Tomatillo Del Desierto. Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry is a short-lived perennial, or annual herb, or subshrub, native to the southwestern United States, & northern Mexico, where it can be found in sandy, to rocky, dry deserts, and mountain habitats. Physalis crassifolia is a perennial herb producing a ridged, angular, branching stem about 80 centimeters long, taking on a clumped, matted, or erect form. Its fleshy triangular leaves are from about 1 to 3 centimeters long and they have smooth, wavy, or bluntly toothed edges. The herbage is glandular and coated in short hairs. The yellow flowers growing from the leaf axils are widely bell-shaped, vaguely five-lobed, and around 2 centimeters wide. The star-shaped calyx of sepals at the base of the flower enlarges as the fruit develops, becoming an inflated, angled lanternlike structure about 2 centimeters long which contains a berry. Well, we found several of these plants growing in a many of the burned over areas in Yarnell, Arizona. about two months after the infamous Yarnell Forest Fire that destroyed many homes in Yarnell, including our own.
Note:
When ripe, the fruit has the texture of a firm tomato, and tastes like either strawberries, or pineapple, with a mild acid taste.
Quick Notes:
Height: About 1 feet tall. Spreading out to about 18 to 30 inches wide.
Flowers: Yellow flowers, a darker yellow, or greenish at the base, widely bell-shaped, growing from the leaf axils, widely bell-shaped, formed of five fused lobes, about 2 centimeters wide,.surrounding a group of short stamens and a style.
The calyx is 4�7 mm, in fruit 20�25 mm, weak-angled; the corolla 15�20 mm diam, the anthers are about 2�3 mm, yellow in color. Hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.
Fruit: The star-shaped calyx of sepals at the base of the flower enlarges, & curls backwards to form a housing for the tomato-like fruit. As the fruit develops, it all becomes a lantern-like structure about 2 centimeters long, which contains the berry. When ripe, the berry is yellow & the husk is tan in color. It is said that it tastes like either strawberries, or pineapple, with a mild acid taste. We found it to have simply a bitter taste. It takes about 3 weeks from husks forming to ripening. The fruit is bitter, & harsh, when unripe!
Flowering Time: Mid February to Mid October.
Leaves: Leaves are green, to gray - green, alternate, & simple. They are generally ovate, fleshy, entire or wavy in shape, about 1 to 4 inches long and about � to 1 7/8 inches wide.
Found: Native to Arizona, California, Nevada, & Utah. Found throughout different elevations in Arizona, in Mohave, La Paz, Yuma, Coconino, Yavapai, Maricopa, Pima, & Gila counties. Also found in Northern Mexico in the states of: Baja California, Sonora, & Coahuila. Found in the Sonora, & Mojave Deserts.
Hardiness: It is frost tender.
Soil pH requirements:
Sun Exposure:
Elevation: The above photos are at 4,886 feet in Yarnell. We have seen it at over 5,000 feet. It is said to only grow from 0 - 4,265 feet.
Habitat:Sandy, gravelly, & rocky flats, washes, slopes, deserts, canyon floors, and rocky hillsides. Peninsular Ranges. Cultivated Beds.
Miscellaneous: Flowering Photos Taken September 09, 2013.Unripe Fruit Photos Taken September 19, 2013. Yarnell, Arizona. 4,886 feet. You can cultivate or grow this plant in light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. It prefers well-drained soil. Soil can be; acid, neutral, or basic (alkaline). It will not grow in the shade. It grows in either dry, or moist soil.
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