Physalis longifolia

Smooth groundcherry flowers are yellow, bell-shaped, with five purplish-brown patches near the center, five stamens with yellow or purple anthers, and a single pistil; the flowers are suspended from a purplish-green pedicel 3/4-1″ long. After fertilization, the flowers are replaced by a tomatillo-like fruit (often with ten purple meridional lines) that is a green (later brown) hollow husk (a persistent calyx) that is heart-shaped in longitudinal section, covering a 1/2″ diameter spherical, green miniature tomato that becomes yellow when ripe. All parts of smooth groundcherry contain a glycoalkaloid poison called solanine that causes a series of unpleasant and sometimes potentially fatal symptoms; smooth groundcherry is avoided by mammalian herbivores. Only the RIPE fruit is edible (said to taste like an underripe strawberry).

Smooth groundcherry stems branch frequently to form a bushy plant up to 3.5 feet tall (more commonly 1-2.5 feet). The stems are four-angled in cross section, green or purplish, hairless or with short, sparse hairs, in sharp contrast to the profuse hairs on clammy groundcherry (P. heterophylla). Smooth groundcherry leaves are about twice as long as wide, oval to lance-shaped, flat, with a rounded leaf base and short (3/4″) petioles; the leaf blade is uneven on either side of the axial vein (“oblique”). There may be short, sparse hairs along the undersides of the major veins but otherwise the leaves are hairless. Leaf margins are smooth and often undulate perpendicular to the blade. The stems, leaves, buds, and flower exteriors of clammy groundcherry are all covered with long, dense, hairs; those surfaces on smooth groundcherry are hairless or nearly so. All parts of smooth groundcherry contain a glycoalkaloid poison called solanine that causes a series of unpleasant and sometimes potentially fatal symptoms; smooth groundcherry is avoided by mammalian herbivores. Only the RIPE fruit is edible (said to taste like an underripe strawberry).

Smooth groundcherry stems branch frequently to form a bushy plant up to 3.5 feet tall (more commonly 1-2.5 feet). The stems, leaves, buds, and flower exteriors of clammy groundcherry are all covered with long, dense, hairs; those surfaces on smooth groundcherry are hairless or nearly so. All parts of smooth groundcherry contain a glycoalkaloid poison called solanine that causes a series of unpleasant and sometimes potentially fatal symptoms; smooth groundcherry is avoided by mammalian herbivores. Only the RIPE fruit is edible (said to taste like an underripe strawberry).