Prior to 2012, this species was known as Physalis carpenteri. At that time it was placed in a new genus, Calliphysalis, based on chromosomal, molecular, morphological, and phylogenetic data that demonstrated its uniqueness.[5]
Among the physalid species, Carpenter's groundcherry is believed to be most closely related to Alkekengi officinarum (formerly Physalis alkekengi).[6]
Uses
The Plants for a Future project notes that Calliphysalis carpenteri belongs to a genus (referring to Physalis, where it was formerly placed), which includes members with poisonous leaves and stems, although the fully ripe fruits are usually edible, and give it an Edibility Rating of 2 out of 5, with no medicinal value or other uses noted.[2]
References
^ abPer 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 New and hitherto unpublished plants of the Southwest, mostly indigenous in Louisiana.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.
^Maggie Whitson. 2012. Calliphysalis (Solanaceae): A New Genus from the Southeastern USA. Rhodora 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, collected many specimens used for the project. Both men were professors at what would become Tulane University."
