Solanaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Physalis leptophylla

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

The unripe fruits and foliage of Physalis species contain solanine and other solanidine alkaloids and are toxic if ingested in large quantities. The ripe fruiys are usually edible, and several species are cultivated for these fruits^[1].

Cultivation Details

Habit—

Growth—

Physalis leptophylla is a plant mainly of subtropical regions.

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Physalis+leptophylla>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

[1]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
[2]Rio Mayo Plants - A study of the flora and vegetation of the valley of the Rio Mayo, Sonora — Gentry H.S. · Carnegie Institution of Washington; Washington DC · 1942 ↩︎One of my favourite authors on native plants, often including their uses. This is an excellent example with lots of information, even though the book is 80 years old.
[3]Taxonomic revision of Physalis in Mexico — Martínez M. et al · 2023 · http:// 10.3389/fgene.2023.1080176 ↩︎
[4]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
[5]Food Plants in the Americas: A Survey of the Domesticated, Cultivated, and Wild Plants Used for Human Food in North, — Kermath B.M.; Bennett B.C.' Pulsipher L.M. · 2014 ↩︎A pre-publication draft of an amazing, on-going work first started in 1985. It contains information on more than 3,900 taxa from the Americas - from Arctic regions to the Tropics