Physalis crassifolia

Thickleaf ground-cherry

Family: Solanaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Thickleaf ground-cherry is a California native perennial found in southern Sierra Nevada, Peninsular Ranges, and Desert regions in gravelly to rocky habitats at elevations below 1,800 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces yellow flowers widely bell-shaped, approximately 11 to 20 millimeters wide. Growing as a subshrub up to 80 centimeters tall with fleshy, finely puberulent herbage that appears nearly smooth, it develops dense, short unbranched hairs. Its leaves are ovate, 1 to 3.5 centimeters long with rounded or truncate bases and entire or slightly wavy margins. The plant develops fruit with an enlarged calyx 20 to 25 millimeters long, significantly expanding from its original flowering size.

Habitat: Gravelly to rocky flats, washes, slopes, rock outcrops

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: < 1800 m

Bioregions: PR, s SNE, D

California counties: Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino, Inyo, Imperial, Orange

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