''Calliphysalis carpenteri'', or Carpenter's

groundcherry ''Physalis'' (, , , , from φυσαλλίς ''phusallís'' "bladder") is a genus of approximately 75 to 90 flowering plants in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), which are native to the Americas and Australasia. At least 46 species are end ...

, is a perennial plant in the family

Solanaceae The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and orn ...

, the "nightshade" plants.Per Axel Rydberg. 1896. The North American species of ''Physalis'' and related genera. '' Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club'' 4: 297-374; 330, citing Riddell, John L. 1853. New and hitherto unpublished plants of the Southwest, mostly indigenous in Louisiana. ''New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal'' 9:609-618. Native to sandy soils on the coastal plain regions of southeastern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

from northern Florida to Louisiana and Arkansas,PFAF Plant Database: ''Physalis carpenteri'' Carpenter's groundcherry, https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Physalis+carpenteri, last accessed 2 Dec 2018. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service: Plants Profile for ''Physalis carpenteri'' (Carpenter's groundcherry), https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=PHCA16, last accessed 2 Dec 2018. it was first described from specimens collected in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana.Reginald S. Cocks: "William M. Carpenter, A Pioneer Scientist of Louisiana" in ''Tulane Graduates' Magazine'', Vol. 3, January 1914, pp. 122-127, reprinted in February 1914 by the author as a booklet published by Tulane University Press under the same title, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044106372303;view=1up;seq=12, last accessed 1 Dec 2018. Its species name honors the botanical contributions of early Louisiana naturalist William Marbury Carpenter (1811-1848).

Uses

The

Plants for a Future Plants For A Future (PFAF) is an online not for profit resource for those interested in edible and useful plants, with a focus on temperate regions. The organization's emphasis is on perennial plants, named after the phrase "plans for a future" a ...

project notes that ''Calliphysalis carpenteri'' belongs to a genus which includes members with

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

ous leaves and stems, although the fully ripe fruits are usually edible, and give it an Edibility Rating of 2 out of 5, with no medicinal value or other uses noted.

Taxonomic history

Prior to 2012, this species was known as ''Physalis carpenteri''. At that time it was placed in a new, monotypic genus, '' Calliphysalis'', based on chromosomal,

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...

, morphological, and phylogenetic data that demonstrated its uniqueness.Maggie Whitson. 2012. ''Calliphysalis'' (Solanaceae): A New Genus from the Southeastern USA. '' Rhodora'' 114(958):133-147, https://doi.org/10.3119/11-10, abstract and partial text at https://www.jstor.org/stable/23314732?seq=1/analyze; "The story of ''Physalis carpenteri'' begins with John Leonard Riddell, a medical doctor, inventor, and botanist best known for work in the western US and Ohio. Spending the latter part of his career in New Orleans, he began work on a flora of Louisiana. His colleague, William Marbury Carpenter, collected many specimens used for the project. Both men were professors at what would become Tulane University." Among species in '' Physalis'' and related genera, Carpenter's groundcherry is believed to be most closely related to ''

Alkekengi officinarum ''Alkekengi officinarum'', the bladder cherry, Chinese lantern, Japanese-lantern, strawberry groundcherry, or winter cherry, is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is a close relative of the new world ''Callip ...

'' (formerly ''Physalis alkekengi'').

References

Plants described in 1896 {{Solanales-stub