Physalis maritima M.A. Curtis
Physalis viscosa L. var. elliottii (Kuntze) Waterf.
Physalis viscosa L. ssp. maritima (M.A. Curtis) Waterf.
Physalis viscosa L. var. maritima (M.A. Curtis) Rydb.
Physalis walteri Nutt.
Groundcherry, Walter’s groundcherry
This tomato relative is native to the southeastern United States.
Plants: 6–24″ (15–60 cm) in height.
Flowers: Funnel-shaped, yellow, fuzzy, hanging downward, appearing May-Sep, peaking in Jun.
Fruits: Flowers become a papery husk resembling a Chinese lantern. Each husk encloses a single, edible fruit ¾–1″ (2–3 cm) in size, which, when ripe, is orange to golden yellow.
Edibility: Fruits are edible raw or cooked. Unripe (light green) or bitter-tasting fruit is toxic, and the husk enclosing the fruit is not edible.
Habitats: Beach dunes and back dunes, in longleaf pine flatwoods, turkey oak sandridges, sandy banks bordering salt marshes, longleaf pine/wiregrass uplands, and slash pine flatwoods, in loamy sand and calcerous soils.
Online References:
Www.eattheweeds.com On edibility
Physalis elliottii Kuntze
Physalis maritima M.A. Curtis
Physalis viscosa L. var. elliottii (Kuntze) Waterf.
Physalis viscosa L. ssp. maritima (M.A. Curtis) Waterf.
Physalis viscosa L. var. maritima (M.A. Curtis) Rydb.
Physalis maritima M.A. Curtis
Physalis viscosa L. var. elliottii (Kuntze) Waterf.
Physalis viscosa L. ssp. maritima (M.A. Curtis) Waterf.
Physalis viscosa L. var. maritima (M.A. Curtis) Rydb.
4/15/2015 · Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Trail, Florida · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm) 
4/15/2015 · Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Trail, Florida · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (16 × 11 cm) 
4/15/2015 · Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Trail, Florida · ≈ 7 × 6″ (18 × 16 cm) 
4/15/2015 · Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Trail, Florida · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (15 × 12 cm) 
4/15/2015 · Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Trail, Florida · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (15 × 12 cm) 
4/15/2015 · Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Trail, Florida · ≈ 6 × 6″ (14 × 16 cm) 
4/15/2015 · Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Trail, Florida · ≈ 6 × 6″ (14 × 16 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Solanales | Potatoes, eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, tobacco, petunias, sweet potatoes, morning glories, many others |
| Family | Solanaceae | Nightshade or potato family |
| Genus | Physalis | From the Greek physalis, “a bladder or bubble,” because of the inflated calyx |
| Species | walteri | For Thomas Walter, an 18th century South Carolina botanist (not confirmed) |
Physalis walteri description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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