''Calliphysalis carpenteri'', or Carpenter's

groundcherry ''Physalis'' (, , , , from φυσαλλίς ''phusallís'' "bladder") is a genus of approximately 75 to 90 flowering plants in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), which are native to the Americas and Australasia. At least 46 species are end ...

, is a perennial plant in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Solanaceae The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and o ...

, the "nightshade" plants.Per Axel Rydberg. 1896. The North American species of ''Physalis'' and related genera. '' Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club'' 4: 297-374; 330, citing Riddell, John L. 1853. New and hitherto unpublished plants of the Southwest, mostly indigenous in Louisiana. ''New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal'' 9:609-618. Native to sandy soils on the

coastal plain A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Co ...

regions of southeastern North America from northern

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...

,PFAF Plant Database: ''Physalis carpenteri'' Carpenter's groundcherry, https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Physalis+carpenteri, last accessed 2 Dec 2018.

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

Natural Resources Conservation Service: Plants Profile for ''Physalis carpenteri'' (Carpenter's groundcherry), https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=PHCA16, last accessed 2 Dec 2018. it was first described from specimens collected in

West Feliciana Parish West Feliciana Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Feliciana Ouest''; Spanish: ''Parroquia de West Feliciana'') is a civil parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 census, the population was 15,625, and 15,310 at the 2020 census. ...

.Reginald S. Cocks: "William M. Carpenter, A Pioneer Scientist of Louisiana" in ''Tulane Graduates' Magazine'', Vol. 3, January 1914, pp. 122-127, reprinted in February 1914 by the author as a booklet published by Tulane University Press under the same title, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044106372303;view=1up;seq=12, last accessed 1 Dec 2018. Its

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

name honors the

botanical Botany, also called plant science (or plant sciences), plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany ...

contributions of early

naturalist William Marbury Carpenter (1811-1848).

Uses

The

Plants for a Future Plants For A Future (PFAF) is an online not for profit resource for those interested in edible and useful plants, with a focus on temperate regions. The organization's emphasis is on perennial plants, named after the phrase "plans for a future" a ...

project notes that ''Calliphysalis carpenteri'' belongs to a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

which includes members with

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

ous leaves and stems, although the fully ripe

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

s are usually edible, and give it an

Edibility An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

Rating of 2 out of 5, with no

medicinal Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

value or other uses noted.

Taxonomic history

Prior to 2012, this species was known as ''Physalis carpenteri''. At that time it was placed in a new,

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

, '' Calliphysalis'', based on

chromosomal A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioch ...

, morphological, and

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

data that demonstrated its uniqueness.Maggie Whitson. 2012. ''Calliphysalis'' (Solanaceae): A New Genus from the Southeastern USA. ''

Rhodora ''Rhododendron canadense'', the rhodora or Canada rosebay, is a deciduous flowering shrub that is native to northeastern North America. Classification Today's botanists consider the rhodora to be a distant relative of the other North Ameri ...

'' 114(958):133-147, https://doi.org/10.3119/11-10, abstract and partial text at https://www.jstor.org/stable/23314732?seq=1/analyze; "The story of ''Physalis carpenteri'' begins with John Leonard Riddell, a medical doctor, inventor, and botanist best known for work in the western US and Ohio. Spending the latter part of his career in New Orleans, he began work on a flora of Louisiana. His colleague,

William Marbury Carpenter Dr. William Marbury Carpenter (25 June 1811, Feliciana Parish, Louisiana – 4 October 1848), a noted Southern natural scientist. Education He was educated through private tutoring and attended the U.S. Military Academy, in West Point, New Y ...

, collected many specimens used for the project. Both men were professors at what would become

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pu ...

." Among species in ''

Physalis ''Physalis'' (, , , , from φυσαλλίς ''phusallís'' "bladder") is a genus of approximately 75 to 90 flowering plants in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), which are native to the Americas and Australasia. At least 46 species are endemic ...

'' and related genera, Carpenter's groundcherry is believed to be most closely related to ''

Alkekengi officinarum ''Alkekengi officinarum'', the bladder cherry, Chinese lantern, Japanese-lantern, strawberry groundcherry, or winter cherry, is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is a close relative of the new world ''Callip ...

'' (formerly ''Physalis alkekengi'').

References

Plants described in 1896 {{Solanales-stub