13. Physalis virginiana Mill. (Virginia ground cherry)

Pl. 562 i–k; Map 2635

Plants perennial, with deep-set, long-creeping rhizomes. Stems 15–60 cm long, erect or ascending, with few to several, ascending branches, moderately pubescent with short, downward-angled, unicellular and few-celled, nonglandular hairs 0.1–0.5 mm long, usually also with scattered to common, longer, spreading, multicellular, nonglandular hairs 0.5–1.0 mm long. Leaves short- to moderately petiolate. Leaf blades 2–7 cm long, narrowly to broadly lanceolate, elliptic or ovate, angled to a sharply pointed tip, angled to tapered at the base, the margins entire, wavy, or sparsely to moderately toothed, minutely nonglandular-hairy, the teeth bluntly pointed to rounded, relatively shallow and broad to coarse, the surfaces green to dark green when fresh, drying uniformly green (lacking orangish tinging or patches), moderately pubescent with a mixture of shorter, more or less appressed, and longer, spreading, nonglandular hairs. Flower stalks (6–)9–20(–27) mm long, becoming elongated to 15–30 mm at fruiting. Calyces 6–12(–14) mm long at flowering, the lobes 3–6 mm long, the outer surface moderately to densely pubescent (especially along the nerves) with a mixture of longer, spreading hairs and shorter downward-angled or -curved hairs at flowering, sparsely to moderately hairy at fruiting, at fruiting, becoming elongated to 20–40 mm long, shallowly 10-angled or 10-ribbed, concave at the base, mostly remaining green, occasionally pale brown to tan with age. Corollas 10–17(–20) mm long, pale yellow to lemon yellow or yellow, the inner surface with 5 prominent purplish brown to bluish purple spots toward the base (these often merged into a ring or appearing smudged, occasionally only the venation strongly darkened). Stamens with broad filaments about as wide as (or occasionally wider than) the anthers, the anthers 2–3 mm long, yellow, occasionally bluish-tinged or each anther sac with a bluish longitudinal line along the zone of dehiscence, arched but not coiled after dehiscence. Fruits 1.0–1.5(–1.8) cm long, green or yellow to orangish yellow. 2n=24. April–October.

Scattered nearly throughout the state, but absent or uncommon in many northwestern counties (eastern U.S. west to North Dakota and New Mexico; Canada, Mexico). Mesic to dry upland forests, upland prairies, loess hill prairies, savannas, glades, ledges and tops of bluffs, and occasionally banks of streams and rivers; also pastures, old fields, railroads, roadsides, and open, disturbed areas.