Physalis acutifolia is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family known by the common names sharpleaf groundcherry and Wright's ground-cherry. It is native to the southwestern United States from California to Texas, and northern Mexico, where it can be found in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas. It is sometimes a weed when it springs up in agricultural fields, but it is generally not weedy in wild habitat.CDFA EncycloWeedia This is an annual herb producing a branching stem up to a meter tall. The lance-shaped to oval leaves are up to 12 cm long and have edges lined with shallow, smooth teeth. The herbage is coated thinly in hairs appressed flat against the surface. The flowers growing from the leaf axils are round and flat-faced and sometimes over 2 cm wide. They are white to pale yellow with wide, bright yellow centers. The five stamens are each tipped with an anther about 3 mm long. The star-shaped calyx of sepals at the base of the flower enlarges as the fruit develops, becoming an inflated, ribbed lantern-shaped structure about 2 cm long which contains the berry.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Physalis acutifolia has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
DNA specimens7
Marker genes4
GenBank sequences8
eDNA detections5
Countries1
The DNA barcodea real sequence read deposited for this species
Physalis acutifolia voucher AJ260 internal transcribed spacer 1, partial sequence; 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene and internal transcribed spacer 2, complete sequence; and large subunit ribosomal RNA gene, partial sequence
Marker genes sequenced
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
★matK4★rbcL1★ITS3★ITS2
plant barcodefungal barcode
06Genome at a glanceCCDB
The complete instruction manualPhysalis acutifolia carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
Chromosomes2n = 24 n = 12
Ploidydiploid inferred
Chromosome-count records — grouped by value · 2n = full set, n = gamete · click a value for sources & references
2n 241×CCDB · book-fedorov
CCDB · book-fedorov — Menzel 1951
n 124×CCDB · solan · CCDB · book-ipcn72
CCDB · solan
CCDB · book-ipcn72 — AVERETT, J.E., & A.M. POWELL. 1972. Chromosome numbers in Physalis and Solanum ( Solanaceae l. Sida 5: 3-7.
Ploidy records — measured levels and diploid/polyploid inferences · click for sources
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
DNA clock origin2.59 Ma TimeTree
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
DNA clock origin
08Occurrence & distribution
Record type966 records
Wild obs. + sensor471
Museum / vouchered495
Origin
Native7
Range
Area of Occupancy AOO2 596 km²
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Coordinate accuracy80% within 1 km
≤100 m 214≤1 km 52≤10 km 20>10 km 47
333 georeferenced · 138 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor471
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Coordinate accuracy78% within 1 km
≤100 m 118≤1 km 46≤10 km 41>10 km 6
211 georeferenced · 284 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence495
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
10Collections & institutions
Holding institutions49 of 66 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
ASUlocation not on record
72
Juriquilla, MX
47
San Diego, US
40
Riverside, US
35
Hermosillo, MX
33
Culiacán, MX
26
Phoenix, US
19
Austin, US
15
EL PASO, US
14
Flagstaff, US
13
DOI/NPS, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Sitelocation not on record
12
Bronx, US
11
La Paz, MX
11
Tepatitlán de Morelos, MX
9
Odawara, JP
9
Claremont, US
9
Saint Louis, US
8
Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record
8
Davis, US
7
Mexico City, MX
7
Durango, MX
6
Mazatlán, MX
5
Bloomington, US
5
Santa Barbara, US
4
Chapingo, MX
4
Ensenada, MX
3
Irvine, US
3
US
3
Tsukuba, JP
3
Fort Worth, US
3
Albuquerque, US
3
Austin, US
2
Arizona Western Collegelocation not on record
2
LDlocation not on record
2
Guasave, MX
2
Logan, US
1
The University of Arizonalocation not on record
1
Zapopan, MX
1
Kirksville, US
1
Durham, US
1
Missoula, US
1
University of Stellenboschlocation not on record
1
San Jose State University, Museum of Birds and Mammalslocation not on record
1
Northridge, US
1
Tampa, US
1
Kew, GB
1
San Angelo, US
1
Chongqing Museumlocation not on record
1
DOI/NPS, Colonial National Historical Parklocation not on record
1
Parthenon Tama History Museumlocation not on record
1
Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahualocation not on record
1
Columbia, US
1
Nishihara, JP
1
Chadron, US
1
Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Méxicolocation not on record
1
Mexico City, MX
1
Montecillo, Texcoco, MX
1
University of Alberta Museumslocation not on record
1
Kochi, JP
1
San Diego Natural History Museumlocation not on record
1
Boise, US
1
GAlocation not on record
1
Jackson, US
1
Shinshu Universitylocation not on record
1
South Kensington, GB
1
Moscow, US
1
66 institutions · 486 of 495 vouchered records shown · 9 without an institution code
09Environmental DNA5 detections
Where the DNA of Physalis acutifolia was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Detections DNA found5
Studies independent surveys1
Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections
Where its DNA was found
0 of 5 detections have coordinates
Open the map0 countries0
How strong is each trace?
DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.