Strawberry Groundcherry (Alkekengi officinarum)
Description
Physalis alkekengi (bladder cherry, Chinese lantern, Japanese-lantern, strawberry groundcherry, or winter cherry; is a relative of P. peruviana (Cape gooseberry). It is easily identifiable by the large, bright orange to red papery covering over its fruit, which resembles paper lanterns. It grows naturally in the regions covering Southern Europe to South Asia and Northeast Asia. It is a perennial herbaceous plant growing to 40?60 cm tall, with spirally arranged leaves 6?12 cm long and 4?9 cm broad. The flowers are white, with a five-lobed corolla 10?15 mm across, with an inflated basal calyx which matures into the papery orange fruit covering, 4?5 cm long and broad.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Solanales
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Family: Solanaceae
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Genus: Alkekengi
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