Physalis angulata L. 1753

Sennikov, Alexander & Lazkov, Georgy, 2022, The first checklist of alien vascular plants of Kyrgyzstan, with new records and critical evaluation of earlier data. Contribution 2, Biodiversity Data Journal 10, pp. 80804-80804 : 80804

Physalis angulata L. 1753

Physalis angulata L., Sp. Pl. 1: 183 (1753).

Physalis angulata Physalis minima

Physalis angulata Physalis hermannii

Diagnosis

Among the annual species of Physalis occurring as aliens in Central Asia, P. angulata was sometimes confused with P. philadelphica . It differs from the latter by ovate-elliptic leaves on longer petioles, pale yellow or whitish-yellow corollae with small pale brown spots at the base (Fig. 17 ), longer pedicels, and fruiting calyces prominently angled in fruit (Fig. 18 ) ( Terrones et al. 2020).

Distribution

Native distribution

Central and South America.

Secondary distribution

Africa, Europe, southern Asia, Australia, North America.

Distribution in Central Asia

Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. Previously reported in error from Kyrgyzstan.

In Tajikistan, the species was frequently found during the period between 1928 and the 1960s on cotton and sesame fields in the large oasis of Boxtar ( Korovin 1934, Kovalevskaya 1986), which is a large agricultural centre of the southern part of the country. Recently it was sporadically noted on rice fields ( Nowak et al. 2013).

During the same period, it was recorded on cotton fields also in Uzbekistan, near Tashkent and Samarkand ( Kovalevskaya 1961). Some older specimens, collected on cotton fields near Tashkent, were misidentified by Kovalevskaya (1961) as Physalis ixocarpa . These specimens (Fig. 19 ) are characterised by pale whitish flowers with very faint spots in the throat and by long pedicels, thus matching P. angulata . For this reason, the historical record of P. ixocarpa from Uzbekistan ( Khassanov et al. 2020) should be rejected.

The only historical record of P. angulata from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan ( Kovalevskaya 1987) is based on herbarium specimens collected from experimental cultivation and kept at FRU and LE. On the basis of this record, the species was listed as occurring in the country ( Lazkov and Sultanova 2011, Lazkov and Sultanova 2014). Since this occurrence was not spontaneous, the species should be removed from the flora of Kyrgyzstan.

It seems that P. angulata was introduced to Central Asia largely with cotton cultivation (American varieties introduced in the late 1920s). According to herbarium records, the species persisted on and around cotton fields until the 1960s. No recent records are available, and the current status of the species is unknown (presumably historical casual).

Distribution in Kyrgyzstan

No spontaneous occurrence has been recorded.

Ecology

Probably open riversides in the native distribution area; riversides, roadsides, fields and fields margins, ruderal places in the secondary distribution area.

Biology

Annual, with a taproot.

Notes

Small-flowered variants of Physalis angulata were reported from Central Asia as P. minima ( Korovin 1934, Cherniakovskaya 1935) or P. hermannii ( Kovalevskaya 1961, Kovalevskaya 1986, Kovalevskaya 1987). Such plants do not deserve taxonomic recognition at any rank.

Figures

Figure 17. Leaves and flowers of Physalis angulata (Louisiana, USA, 2021). Source: https: // www. inaturalist. org / photos / 111793511 (iNaturalist 2021).

Figure 18. Fruits of Physalis angulata (Louisiana, USA, 2021). Source: https: // www. inaturalist. org / photos / 111793520 (iNaturalist 2021).

Figure 19. A specimen of Physalis angulata from Uzbekistan, which was misidentified as P. ixocarpa (TASH).