This species has been commonly confused with Physalis minima L., and many references to that species are likely to more properly refer to this species[].

Common Name:

General Information

Physalis lagascae is an erect to prostrate annual plant that can grow up to 100cm tall[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine. It is said to be occasionally cultivated for these purposes[].

Known Hazards

Although providing many well-known foods for people, including the potato, tomato, pepper and aubergine, most plants in the family Solanaceae also contain poisonous alkaloids. Unless there are specific entries with information on edible uses, it would be unwise to ingest any part of this plant[].

Botanical References

Range

Originally native to tropical America, it is now distributed pantropically as a weed.

Habitat

A common weed of cultivated and disturbed ground, especially in seasonally dry areas[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Annual
Height	0.75 m

Cultivation Details

Found as a pantropical weed, the plant is particularly well-suited to seasonally dry climates, but is by no means restricted to them[].

A common weed of cultivated and waste ground[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[]. The fruit is a greenish to yellow, globose berry 6 - 10 mm in diameter, containing many small seeds and enclosed in a persistent, inflated bladdery calyx[].

Leaves - boiled and eaten as a vegetable[].

Medicinal

Leaves are used externally to treat yaws and measles. Pain in the joints is relieved by rubbing or dressing them with pounded leaves. The leaves are also applied to Guinea worm sores, killing the worms and easing extraction. Leaf sap is taken orally to treat tonsillitis, jaundice, angina pectoris, tachycardia and stomach-ache, and as an anthelmintic. The ground leaves are used in the treatment of abdominal and vaginal pain and are taken as a cold infusion shortly before childbirth to help expel the placenta[].

The whole plant mashed up and added to palm wine is taken to cure fever[].

The leaf sap is very bitter and haemostatic[].
Chemical and pharmacological work done on this species has been published under the name Physalis minima and cannot be distinguished from that done on other species of Physalis for which this name has been used. In view of the medicinal uses, it is probable that Physalis lagascae contains steroidal lactones belonging to the physaline and withanolide types: physalins, physagulins, withangulatins, withanolides; it may further contain vitasteroids[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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