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Cutleaf Ground-cherry

Physalis angulata

Found in longleaf pine sandhills, disturbed areas, open woodlands, agricultural fields. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

73
Strong

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

Profile 82%

Height
Up to about 3 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom

Bloom: recorded only in the FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team) phone app (app page).

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 25 Virginia counties.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

13CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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 integraEggplant Leafroller
  • Manduca quinquemaculatusFive-Spotted Hawkmoth, Tomato Hornworm
  • Manduca sextaCarolina Sphinx, Tomatoe Sphinx, Tobacco Hornworm
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
Show all 13
  • Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
  • Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
  • Symmetrischema pallidochrella
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

Cutleaf Ground Cherry

Conservation status

Virginia rankS4?
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources