Clammy Ground-cherry

Physalis heterophylla

Found in disturbed areas, prairies, stream valleys, dry rocky woodlands, hammocks. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

Strong

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height: 1.5–2 feet
Spread: 1–3 feet
Light: Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture: Dry to average

Space about 2 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 25 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

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Physalis heterophylla — flower photograph — (c) M. Whitson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph

At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial
Bloom: Summer
Fruiting season: July to September

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 34 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

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Limestone prairie. Shown: Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Coastal Plain hammocks

Dense, evergreen groves of live oak, magnolia and other hardwoods in the southern Coastal Plain, from dry oak domes to wet hydric hammocks and south Florida's tropical hammocks; salt-shaped maritime hammocks are maritime forests.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

13CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Physalis

Chloridea subflexaSubflexus Straw, Groundcherry Sun Moth
Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
Diaphania nitidalisPickleworm Moth
Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
Herpetogramma pertextalisBold-Feathered Grass Moth
Lineodes fontellaEastern Lineodes
Lineodes integraEggplant Leafroller
Manduca quinquemaculatusFive-Spotted Hawkmoth, Tomato Hornworm
Manduca sextaCarolina Sphinx, Tomatoe Sphinx, Tobacco Hornworm

Show all 13

Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

10BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Physalis

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

3Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Physalis

Colletes latitarsis
Colletes willistoni
Perdita halictoides

Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

5BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Physalis

Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
Ortalis vetulaPlain Chachalaca
Tympanuchus phasianellusSharp-tailed Grouse

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Solanaceae
Hardiness: Zones 4a–9b
Flower color: Yellow or purple
Fruit begins: July
Fruit ends: September

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “Summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team) differs)
Flower color · “Yellow or purple” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Fruit begins · “July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Fruit ends · “September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Hardiness · “Zones 4a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Height · “1.5–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers differs)
Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Soil · “Good drainage; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; NC Extension Plant Toolbox differs)
Spread · “1–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Also known as

Clammy Ground Cherry

Conservation status

Alabama rank	SNR
Global rank	G5
AL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Clammy Ground-cherry

At a glance

Natural habitats

Who uses this plant?

Plant details

Conservation status

Will it fit your yard?

Sources

More Physalis