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Nicandra physalodes

apple-of-peru

SunFull Sun – Part Shade

Overview

Nicandra physalodes is a bushy annual reaching 2-5 feet (0.6-1.5 m) tall, with stout, branching, ridged stems. Leaves are oval with wavy, coarsely toothed margins, 4-8 inches (10-20 cm) long, mid-green and slightly fleshy. From midsummer to autumn it carries bell-shaped flowers 1-1.6 inches (2.5-4 cm) across, pale blue to violet with a white throat, each lasting about a day and opening for a few hours. The flowers are followed by round, dry berries enclosed in a papery, five-angled, inflated calyx 0.8-1.2 inches (2-3 cm) long that turns green to brown, resembling a small lantern. A single plant can produce thousands of seeds. The plant dies after seeding in autumn. It grows on fertile, disturbed ground and self-seeds freely. All parts contain alkaloids and are toxic if eaten.

Native Range

Native to western South America, particularly Peru and Bolivia. Grows on disturbed, fertile ground, field margins, and waste places. Widely naturalized as a garden escape and weed across temperate and warm regions, including Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia.

Suggested Uses

Grown as an annual in borders and cottage gardens for its blue flowers and lantern-like seed pods, which are cut for fresh and dried arrangements, spaced 18-24 inches (45-60 cm) apart. Also grown on disturbed ground as a quick filler. Its heavy self-seeding can make it weedy in open beds.

How to Identify

Identified by bell-shaped pale blue flowers with a white throat and, in fruit, round dry berries each wrapped in a papery, five-angled inflated calyx like a small lantern. Leaves are oval with wavy, coarsely toothed margins. Differs from tomatillo and Chinese lantern (Physalis spp. species), which have yellowish or orange-red lantern husks, and from other nightshades by its blue, not white or purple, bell flowers.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height2' - 5'

Width/Spread1'6" - 3'

Colors

Flower Colors

Foliage Colors

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~14 weeks

Summer Fall

Flowers from July to October. Each pale blue flower opens for only a few hours, usually in the morning, and is pollinated by bees or self-pollinates. Lantern-like fruits develop quickly through late summer and autumn, and a long flowering season keeps flowers and fruit on the plant at the same time.

Detailed Descriptions

Flower Description

pale blue to violet with white throat

Foliage Description

mid-green

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun SunPartial Shade

Requires 6-12 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range6.0 - 7.5(Neutral)

357912

Soil Types

loam sand clay

Drainagewell drained

Water & Climate

Water Needs

Medium

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Grows in full sun to light shade on fertile, moist, well-drained soils, completing its cycle in one season. Seed is sown in spring under cover or direct after the last frost, and seedlings grow quickly to flowering size. Tolerates a range of soils but grows tallest on rich, cultivated ground. It self-seeds heavily, and volunteer seedlings appear the following year wherever seed has fallen. Autumn frost kills the plants. Aphids and whitefly can build up on sheltered plants. All parts contain tropane and other alkaloids and are toxic to people and animals if eaten.

Pruning

Tall plants can be staked or cut back in summer to keep them bushy, though this is rarely needed. Removing the lantern fruits before they ripen reduces self-seeding. Plants left to seed produce many volunteer seedlings the next year.