Common ground-cherry
StarPhysalis longifolia
Synonyms: Physalis lanceolata var. longifolia
Western Herbalism Properties
Traditional Uses
Physalis longifolia served Indigenous peoples of the Plains and Southwest both as a food and a medicine. The ripe berries were eaten fresh, dried for winter use or pounded into cakes. Medicinally, the Iroquois used a decoction of the plant for stomach trouble, and the Lakota and Dakota employed the root in preparations for headache and as a dressing for wounds; the dried husked berries were also used as a soothing application (Moerman, 1998). Unripe fruit and foliage were recognized as toxic and were avoided.
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Botanical Description
Physalis longifolia, commonly called long-leaved ground-cherry or common ground-cherry, is a rhizomatous perennial herb in the Solanaceae family, native to much of central and eastern North America, where it grows in prairies, open woodlands, fields, roadsides and disturbed ground. The plant produces erect to ascending, branching stems 30 to 90 centimetres tall, ridged or angular and glabrous to sparsely pubescent. The alternate leaves are lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 5 to 12 centimetres long, with entire to shallowly and irregularly toothed margins and slender petioles. Solitary, nodding flowers arise from the leaf axils on slender pedicels; each flower has a broadly bell-shaped, pale yellow corolla 1 to 2 centimetres across, marked centrally with five purplish-brown blotches surrounding bluish to yellowish anthers. After flowering, the calyx enlarges dramatically and becomes ten-ribbed, papery, lantern-like, fully enclosing a smooth, globose berry that ripens from green to yellow inside the husk. Unripe fruit and foliage contain toxic solanaceous alkaloids.
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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