Physalis PERUVIANA

Physalis PERUVIANA - Cape gooseberry, Peruvian groundcherry, Goldenberry, Strawberry tomato.

Physalis is the largest genus of flowering plants in the family Solanaceae, uniting more than 120 species growing in the tropical and subtropical zones of the Americas, Asia, and Australia. At least 46 species are endemic to Mexico.

They are perennial, much less frequently annual, herbaceous plants with an erect stem lignifying at the base, reaching from 30 cm to 3 m (11.8 in to 9.8 ft) in height. The leaves sit on petioles and are arranged alternately. The green leaf blades are heart-shaped with a rounded base and a pointed tip.

White or yellowish flowers on drooping pedicels are bisexual and solitary. In contrast to the more than modest flowering, during the fruiting period the plant looks very attractive. The berry fruit is enclosed in a casing resembling a Chinese paper lantern made of fused sepals. In the first period after flowering, the calyx grows noticeably faster than the fruit. The green, red, or yellow husk dries out upon full ripening of the fruit, and its color changes.

All species of Physalis are divided into ornamental, vegetable, and berry types.

Cape gooseberry is an herbaceous shrub 0.9-1.6 m (3.0-5.2 ft) tall with heart-shaped, toothed leaves reaching up to 6-15 cm (2.4-5.9 in) long and 4-10 cm (1.6-3.9 in) wide. The flowers are bell-shaped, yellow with five dark purplish-brown spots, surrounded by a purplish-green hairy calyx. The fruits are spherical berries 1.25-2 cm (0.5-0.8 in) in diameter with a smooth, glossy orange-yellow skin and juicy pulp containing many small yellowish seeds. Ripe fruits have a sweet taste with a pleasant grape undertone.

Seeds are presoaked for 24 hours in warm water, then sown on the surface of a light, breathable mixture and covered with a 2-5 mm (0.1-0.2 in) layer of soil, moistened with a spray bottle, placed in a mini-greenhouse or covered with film, and germinated in light, but not in direct sun at a temperature of 18-22 °C (64-72 °F). Seedlings need ventilation. It is necessary to avoid waterlogging and drying out of the sowings.

Seeds germinate in 10 to 14 days. At the stage of 2-3 true leaves appearing, seedlings are pricked out into individual pots. Grown and hardened plants are transplanted into larger containers or into pre-moistened planting holes in open ground.

Sowing for seedlings can begin in mid-April. By the end of May, young plants will be ready for planting out into garden beds at a distance of about 50 cm (19.7 in) from each other. Seedlings should be regularly watered, the soil loosened carefully, and in the third week fed with complex mineral or organic fertilizers.