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Dune Ground-cherry

Physalis walteri

Found in dunes of sea-beaches, openings in maritime forests, longleaf pine sandhills (southward), and rarely inland as a waif in disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

74
Strong

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

Profile 82%

Height
Up to about 2 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom

Bloom: NC species account not read yet.

Spread and leaves: no source found yet.

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 5 Mississippi counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 2

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

14CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS

Genus host records with ranges including MS · 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 14
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
  • Striacosta albicostaWestern Bean Cutworm
  • 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
Flower color
Yellow

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Dune Ground cherry; Physalis angustifolia; Physalis viscosa ssp. maritima

Conservation status

Mississippi rankSNR
Global rankG4
MS statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources