Lobed ground cherry

Description

Quincula lobata is a type of potato plant. It was first described by John Torrey, and given the exact name of Constantine Samuel Rafinesque. Quincula lobata belongs to the genus Quincula, and family Solanaceae. Quincula is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The sole species it contains, Quincula lobata, is commonly known as Chinese lantern, lobed groundcherry, or purple groundcherry. This plant is also classified as Physalis lobata in genus Physalis. It is native to the southwestern United States as far east as Kansas and Oklahoma, as well as northern Mexico, where it grows in many types of open, dry habitat, including disturbed areas. It is a perennial herb producing ridged, spreading stems up to half a meter long. The lance-shaped leaves are up to 7 centimeters long, smooth or lobed on the edges. The flowers blooming from the leaf axils are up to 2 centimeters wide, widely bell-shaped or flat-faced with five vague, pointed lobes, not drooping like those of many Physalis species. They are purple in color, sometimes with white deep in the throats. The bell-shaped calyx of sepals at the base of the flower enlarges as the fruit develops, becoming an inflated, lanternlike structure up to 2 centimeters long which contains the berry. Phylogenetic studies suggest that Quincula is closely related to the small North American genus Chamaesaracha.