Plant types

Plant styles

Planting conditions

Seasonal interest

Nurseries & Gardens

Photo by Pen Waggener

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Show all photos

Physalis pruinosa

Also Known As

Aunt Molly's Ground Cherry
Cape Gooseberry
Ground Cherry

Plant type

perennial, annual / biennial, fruit / vegetable

size

H: 1'-3'
W: 3'-4'

planting zones

1-12

More Options

Physalis pruinosa plant details

Physalis pruinosa is a broadleaf deciduous annual / biennial or perennial fruit / vegetable with green foliage. In summer yellow flowers emerge followed by yellow fruit. Attracts bees making it an excellent addition to pollinator gardens. Grows well with sun - mostly sun and regular water. Adapts to various soil conditions. Does well in average and well-drained soil. A good option if you're seeking something heat tolerant and humidity tolerant.

CHARACTERISTICS OF Physalis pruinosa

Plant type: annual / biennial or perennial fruit / vegetable
Plant family: solanaceae
Foliage: deciduous green
Mature size: 3 FT - 4 FT - wide, 1 FT - 3 FT - tall
Flowers: yellow blooms in summer
Uses: container plant, culinary, edible, self-sowing

GROWING CONDITIONS for Physalis pruinosa

USDA Zones: 1 - 12
Sun exposure: sun - mostly sun
Watering frequency: regular
Resistant to: heat and humidity
Soil needs: average and well-drained

Nursery contributed plant descriptions

A fun new fruit to try! These funny little tomato-relatives have a sweet pineapple + melon flavor with a hint of tomato. They are excellent made into jam or tossed into a salad. Or snack on them while you garden! Supposedly good dipped in chocolate (but then what isn’t?), the yellow “cherries” are wrapped in a paper husk. For best flavor let the fruits fall from the plant. To harvest, lift the prostrate branches off the ground & collect the fruit. They store well in a paper bag in the fridge for quite a while if you are collecting enough to make jam, otherwise plant several so you’ll have enough to work with. Pull the fruit out of their paper husks when you’re ready to eat them. The plant is low & sprawly, 6” tall & 3-4’ wide. The foliage is poisonous so eat the fruits only! From Central & South America. Reseeds- that is if you leave some of the fruit behind-I didn’t!