Physalis lanceolata aka Sword Groundcherry

Physalis lanceolata is a small plant that lives for years. It belongs to Solanaceae, the nightshade family. People call it ground cherry or sword groundcherry. It comes from the southeastern United States. Its native range starts in North Carolina. It runs through South Carolina to Georgia. Kew places it in a subtropical climate zone. It is not native to Britain or Ireland. In the wild, it grows on dry, open ground. Records name old fields and waste ground as sites.

The plant grows about 1.3 feet (0.4 metres) tall. Kew calls it a perennial or rhizomatous geophyte. This means it can have stems below ground. These stems help it grow again. The sources give no width for a full-grown plant. They give no leaf or stem details for this species. Each flower has both male and female organs. Insects bring pollen to the flowers. The sources do not say when it blooms.

Each fruit has a papery coat formed by the calyx. PFAF lists the fruit as food, raw or cooked. It lists spring bud clusters as food too. The calyx is toxic: do not eat it. PFAF gives it a food-use score of two out of five. It warns of toxic leaves and stems in the wider genus. It does not confirm these risks for this species. Thus, some questions about its safety remain open.

PFAF says this species is frost tender. It is unclear if it can live outdoors in Britain. Its profile lists sand, loam and clay as suitable soils. It needs soil that drains well, with dry to moist conditions. The soil can be mildly acid, neutral or mildly alkaline. It can grow in light shade or full sun. PFAF lists garden beds as a place to grow it. Its proposed methods for Britain are still tentative. They do not prove how much cold it can bear.

PFAF lists seed and spring division as ways to grow more. It suggests sowing in a greenhouse in March or April. Use little cover over the seeds. Plant seedlings outdoors after the last frost you expect. Small divisions can grow in pots before planting out. PFAF records past use of root preparations for headaches. It also records their use for stomach complaints and wounds. These past uses do not prove that the roots help. It lists no other uses and reports no weed potential.