Peruvian ground-cherry

Physalis peruviana, the cape gooseberry, goldenberry or Andean uchuva, is a soft-wooded perennial herb or short-lived shrub in the Solanaceae family native to the high valleys of the Andes in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile and Bolivia. In tropical highlands it grows as a diffusely branched shrub 1 to 1.6 metres tall, while in temperate regions it is usually grown as an annual. The plant has heart-shaped, softly hairy leaves and small, drooping, bell-shaped flowers with five fused yellow petals marked by dark purple basal spots and yellow anthers. After fertilisation the calyx enlarges into a papery, lantern-like husk that envelops the smooth, marble-sized, orange-yellow berry within. The sweet-tart fruit contains many tiny edible seeds and is rich in vitamins A and C, niacin and phosphorus. Cultivated since pre-Columbian times and now grown commercially worldwide, the species has naturalised in many warm-temperate and tropical regions and is locally invasive in parts of Oceania and Africa.