Physalis walteri (Dune Groundcherry)

Description

2″-6″ tall native perennial produces silvery foliage, whenever temperatures are above freezing. Bees are drawn to the flowers from Spring to Fall. “Chinese  lantern” soon follow. The fruit are ripe when they fall off the plant. Remove the papery calyx and wipe the stickiness off with your shirt and eat them raw. Southern Mountaineers cooked them in pies. They can also be picked green and cooked with chiles to make a salsa verde. (Birds and small mammals like to eat them also). Dune Groundcherries spread by underground stolons to make a nice groundcover. They can be walked on (but you will squish the fruits) and mowed. They are native to sand dunes and sandy roadsides. They thrive where most plants die. Plant in full sun or part shade, average to very dry soil, average to high calcium soil. They tolerate salt wind and salt flooding. They are great plant for erosion control. They are generally deer tolerant. If deer are excessive interplant with Paspalum vaginatum (Seashore Paspalum), Sporobolus virginicus (Seashore Dropseed), Chasmanthium laxum, Chasmanthium sessiliflorum, Passiflora incarnata (Maypops) and/or Salvia coccinea (Scarlet Sage) Check the following links to see other images: http://vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=3174http://www.wildsouthflorida.com/walters.groundcherry.html#.WNMypjvytPY

Plants are in beds now. They can be ready within three weeks of ordering.