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Physalis viscosa
Also called Sticky gooseberry, Stellate Ground Cherry, Grape Ground Cherry, Perennial Ground Cherry, Sticky Cape Gooseberry, Sticky Ground Cherry, Sticky Physalis
Physalis viscosa is a rhizomatous perennial herb in the nightshade family, native to South America and grown in the Gran Chaco region for its edible fruits. Its sources describe it mainly as a wild or weedy plant, so it is not a common garden or houseplant.
Physalis viscosa is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family known by many common names, including starhair groundcherry, stellate ground-cherry and grape groundcherry in English, and arrebenta-cavalo, balãozinho, and camambú in Portuguese and Spanish (from Guaraní akamambu, «blister»). It is native to South America, and it is known on other continents as an introduced species and sometimes a weed. It can grow in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas.
This is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing hairy stem up to about 40 centimeters in maximum height. The oval leaves are 3 to 5 centimeters long and have smooth or toothed edges. The flowers blooming from the leaf axils are bell-shaped and about 1.5 centimeters wide. They are yellow with darker centers, and have five stamens tipped with yellow anthers.
The nutritional and medicinal use of P. viscosa has been documented in widespread areas of Bolivia, eastern Paraguay. and northern Argentina. Its use is particularly common in the Gran Chaco region where the Toba-Pilagá, Nivaclé, and the Maká eat the ripe fruits raw, while the Lengua-Maskoy bake the fruits in embers or boil them before eating. Members of the Lengua-Maskoy group also use a liquid prepared from crushed leaves placed in water to treat conjunctivitis and other eye ailments by dropping the liquid preparation into the affected eye.
Cutleaf groundcherry · Southwestern groundcherry · Cotztomatl · Strawberry-tomato · Ivyleaf groundcherry · Longleaf groundcherry · Physalis nicandroides · Peruvian groundcherry · Tomatillo · Husk Tomato · Husk tomato · Groundcherry
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Physalis viscosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
