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Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry (Physalis crassifolia)
Perennial Forbs Around Las Vegas, Vegetation Around Las Vegas
Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry (Physalis crassifolia)

General: Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry (Physalis crassifolia) is a mounded, perennial forb that grows to about 18-inches tall. The leaves are thick, rounded, and covered with short, simple, glandular hairs. The flowers are nodding (not upright), held on a long pedicel (longer than the flower). The flowers are yellow and bell-shaped with fused petals. Anthers are yellow. The fruits are small, tomato-like berries held inside a papery bag (like a Chinese lantern).

Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry is fairly common the the Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) life zone, especially along washes.

Family: Nightshade (Solanaceae).

Other Names:

Plant Form: Mounded subshrub from a rhizome.

Height: To about 18 inches.

Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry (Physalis crassifolia)

Stems: branched, mounded, rigid.

Leaves: To about 1-1/2 inches, rounded. Covered with dense, short, glandular hairs.

Flowers: Blooms in spring to early summer. Inflorescence: solitary. Petals yellow, fused, about 1/2-inch across. Yellow anthers stand out from the petals.

Fruit: Small tomato held inside a papery sack.

Habitat: Lower desert, especially along washes.

Elevation: To about 4,000 feet.

Distribution: California to Utah and Arizona.

Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry (Physalis crassifolia) Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry (Physalis crassifolia)
Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry (Physalis crassifolia) Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry (Physalis crassifolia)
Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry (Physalis crassifolia) Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry (Physalis crassifolia)
Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry (Physalis crassifolia) Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry (Physalis crassifolia)
Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry (Physalis crassifolia) Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry (Physalis crassifolia)
Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry (Physalis crassifolia) Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry (Physalis crassifolia)

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate. Names generally follow the USDA database.
copyright; Last updated 240908

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