Nicandra physalodes

Apple of peru, shoo-fly plant, Shoo-Fly Plant

Family: Solanaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Apple of peru is a naturalized annual found in southern California coastal areas in fields and disturbed sites at elevations below 200 meters. Flowering from April to December, this plant produces pale blue to lavender flowers with white throats up to 30 millimeters long. Growing up to 2 meters tall with strongly 5-ribbed hollow stems that are often much-branched, it develops an expansive, spreading form. Its large leaves measure 8 to 30 centimeters long, with ovate blades that are distinctively toothed or lobed and decurrent on the petiole. The distinctive fruit is enclosed in an enlarged, urn-shaped calyx with deeply cordate lobes, creating a unique protective capsule around numerous small brown seeds.

Habitat: Fields, disturbed sites, escape from cultivation

Bloom period: Apr-Dec

Elevation: < 200 m

Bioregions: SCo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.