Apple of Peru (Nicandra physalodes)

Synonyms: Atropa physalodes, Physalodes peruvianum

Common Names: Shoo-fly plant, wild gooseberry, wild hops

Description:

Apple of Peru (Nicandra physalodes) is a tall annual plant in the nightshade family, native to western South America [1]. It has been grown as a garden ornamental ? and as a folk fly repellent, hence its other name "shoo-fly plant" ? and it escapes into gardens, fields, and waste ground [1]. MISIN tracks it as a non-native species to map where it occurs; it is a weed of disturbed ground and is poisonous in all its parts, so it is worth knowing and removing where children, pets, or livestock could reach it [1].

Habit:

Apple of Peru is a branching annual that grows 2 to 5 feet tall with large, soft, wavy-edged green leaves up to about 8 inches long [1]. From summer into early fall it bears showy, pale blue to lavender bell-shaped flowers with a white center, each about 1 to 1? inches across; an individual flower lasts only about a day, but the plant keeps making new ones [1]. Its most distinctive feature comes after flowering: a dry berry wrapped in an enlarged, papery, lantern-like husk (the calyx), much like a groundcherry or tomatillo [1]. Unlike a groundcherry husk, though, this husk is deeply lobed into segments rather than being a single smooth bladder [1]. It is easiest to spot in late summer and fall when the blue flowers and papery lantern husks are present [1].

At-a-glance cues:

1. Pale blue to lavender bell-shaped flowers with a white center, about 1?1? inches across [1]
2. Large, soft, wavy- or bluntly-toothed leaves up to about 8 inches long [1]
3. A dry berry wrapped in an inflated, papery, deeply lobed lantern-like husk [1]
4. A branching annual, 2 to 5 feet tall, on disturbed or garden ground [1]

Leaves:

1. Alternate and simple, large ? up to about 8 inches long and 4 inches across [1]
2. Egg- to heart-shaped (ovate-cordate), on long, slender stalks [1]
3. Edges shallowly lobed, bluntly toothed, or wavy [1]
4. Surface softly and sparsely hairy [1]

Stems:

1. Herbaceous (soft, not woody) annual, growing 2 to 5 feet tall with branching [1]
2. Stems angular and mostly hairless, with a smooth surface [1]
3. Dies back completely at the end of the season [1]

Flowers:

1. Pale blue to lavender with a white center, broadly bell- or cup-shaped, about 1 to 1? inches across [1]
2. Borne singly; each flower is open for only about a day, but new ones open in succession [1]
3. Bloom from summer into early autumn [1]
4. Each flower has both male and female parts (perfect) [1]

Fruit and seeds:

1. A dry, round berry enclosed in an enlarged, papery, lantern-like husk (the calyx), much like a groundcherry [1]
2. The husk is deeply lobed into segments ? not a single smooth bladder as in true groundcherries [1]
3. Each husk is packed with many small seeds [1]
4. The plant spreads by reseeding itself; seeds are also carried off by birds [1]

Habitat:

Apple of Peru grows in open, sunny, disturbed places ? gardens, farm fields and field edges, barnyards, roadsides, and waste ground [1]. It is native to western South America, from Peru to northwestern Argentina, and has been spread around the world as a garden ornamental [1]. In North America it has escaped cultivation and naturalized as a weed, though it favors disturbed ground and often does not persist for long in undisturbed natural areas [1][2].

Reproduction:

Apple of Peru spreads only by seed, and it makes a lot of it ? each papery husk is packed with seeds [1]. Those seeds move in disturbed soil, in dumped garden waste, and on their own when birds eat the fruit and carry the seed elsewhere [1]. A plant grown in a yard can readily seed itself into nearby fields and disturbed ground.

It is an annual: a plant sprouts in spring, flowers and fruits through summer and fall, then dies at season's end [1]. Because it comes back only from seed, the key to control is removing plants before the husks ripen and shed their seed [1].

Impact and Damage:

The most important thing to know about apple of Peru is that it is poisonous [1]. It is a member of the nightshade family, and all parts of the plant ? leaves, stems, fruit, and seeds ? contain toxic compounds, so it should not be eaten and is best kept away from children, pets, and livestock [1]. Despite the lantern husk that makes it look like an edible groundcherry, its fruit is not safe to eat [1]. Beyond that, it is mainly a weed of gardens, fields, and disturbed ground, where it can compete with crops and ornamentals [1]. Its impact in natural areas is limited: it favors already-disturbed ground and often does not persist where the ground is undisturbed, so it is not a strong invader of healthy native plant communities [1][2].

Similar species:

Apple of Peru is mistaken for other members of the nightshade family, especially the groundcherries, because of its inflated lantern-like fruit husk. The pale blue bell flowers and the deeply lobed husk are the best clues.

Clammy groundcherry (Physalis heterophylla) is a native plant whose berry is also wrapped in a papery husk, which causes the confusion. But its flowers are yellow with dark centers, not blue, and its husk is a single smooth bladder rather than the deeply lobed husk of apple of Peru [1].

Tomatillo (Physalis philadelphica) is the cultivated husk-tomato and looks similar in fruit, with the same single smooth papery husk and yellow flowers. Its ripe fruit is edible, unlike the poisonous fruit of apple of Peru [1].

Black nightshade (Solanum nigrum and close relatives) is another weedy nightshade of disturbed ground, but it has small white star-shaped flowers and small black berries with no papery husk at all [1].

Jimsonweed (Datura stramonium) is a poisonous nightshade weed of similar size and habitat, but it has large white trumpet-shaped flowers and a spiny seed capsule rather than blue bell flowers and a smooth lantern husk [1].

Monitoring and rapid response:

Signs to watch for:

1. A branching annual 2 to 5 feet tall with large, soft, wavy-edged leaves [1]
2. Pale blue to lavender bell-shaped flowers with white centers, in summer and fall [1]
3. Dry berries wrapped in inflated, papery, deeply lobed lantern husks [1]
4. Plants in gardens, fields, barnyards, roadsides, and other disturbed ground [1]

What you can do:

1. Pull or hoe out plants ? they are annuals and come up easily, especially when young and the soil is moist [1]
2. Remove plants before the lantern husks ripen and shed seed, and bag the seeding plants rather than leaving them on site [1]
3. Wear gloves when handling, and keep the fruit and foliage away from children, pets, and livestock ? all parts are poisonous [1]
4. Do not plant it as an ornamental where it can escape, and pull any volunteers near gardens and fields [1]
5. Natural area crews can hand-pull plants from disturbed spots before they set seed and watch the site for new seedlings the next season [1]

When to call a professional:

1. Large infestations in crop fields or along rights-of-way where hand removal cannot keep up [1]
2. Persistent re-infestation from a built-up seed bank or a nearby seed source [1]
3. For chemical control options, contact a licensed applicator or your local cooperative extension office.

Report sightings to MISIN. Help track this species' spread by submitting observations through the MISIN web site or the MISIN mobile app (Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS). Photos at multiple angles paired with a precise GPS location are the most valuable data for confirming new occurrences and triggering rapid-response review.

Credits:

1. North Carolina State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Nicandra physalodes (Apple-of-Peru, Shoofly Plant). plants.ces.ncsu.edu
2. USDA NRCS PLANTS Database. Nicandra physalodes (L.) Gaertn. (NIPH). plants.usda.gov

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