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Mexican Ground-cherry

Physalis philadelphica

Found in naturalized after cultivation. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

—
Not native

Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 65%

Height
3–4 feet
Spread
3–4 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Usually moist

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual

Not yet recorded · Leaves · Bloom

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

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 7 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)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
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

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

Mexican Ground Cherry; Mexican Groundcherry; Mexican Husk Tomato; Tomatillo

Conservation status

Virginia rankSNA
Global rankGNR
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources