Physalis hederifolia

Ivy-leaf ground-cherry

Family: Solanaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Ivy-leaf ground-cherry is a California native perennial found in gravelly and rocky slopes at elevations of 700 to 2,000 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces yellow to greenish yellow flowers with occasional purple-brown spots at the base, typically 10 to 15 millimeters wide. Growing with fleshy stems 10 to 80 centimeters tall, it spreads via a fleshy rhizome and often appears sticky due to branched and gland-tipped hairs. Its leaves are 1.5 to 4 centimeters long, ranging from lanceolate to ovate or diamond-shaped, with edges that can be entire or lightly toothed. The fruit develops in a calyx that expands to 20 to 30 millimeters, becoming nearly spherical.

Habitat: Gravelly to rocky slopes

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 700-2000 m

California counties: Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego

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