Cape gooseberry

Physalis peruviana
Cape gooseberry flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Solanales
Family:	Solanaceae
Genus:	Physalis
Species:	P. peruviana
Binomial name
Physalis peruviana L.

Cape gooseberry fruit

Physalis peruviana, commonly known as physalis, is indigenous to South America, but was cultivated in South Africa in the region of the Cape of Good Hope during the 1800s, imparting its common name, cape gooseberry.

As a member of the plant family Solanaceae, it is related to a large number of edible plants, including tomato, eggplant and potato, and other members of the nightshades. It is closely related to the tomatillo but not to the cherry, Ribes gooseberry, Indian gooseberry or Chinese gooseberry, as its various names might suggest.

The fruit is a small round berry about the size of a marble with numerous small yellow seeds. It is bright yellow and sweet when ripe, making it ideal for snacks, pies or jams. It is popular in fruit salads, sometimes combined with avocado.

Its most notable feature is the single papery pod that covers each berry. Because of the fruit's decorative appearance, it is sometimes used in restaurants as an exotic garnish for desserts. If the fruit is left inside the husks, its shelf life at room temperature is over 30-45 days.

Names

Physalis peruviana has a variety of names, known in English as golden berry (South Africa, U.K.), cape gooseberry, giant ground cherry, Peruvian groundcherry, Peruvian cherry (U.S.), poha (Hawaii), jam fruit (India), uchuva (Colombia) and physalis. ^[1]

Geographic and cultivation origins

Native to high altitude tropical Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru where the fruits grow wild, are casually eaten and occasionally sold in markets but the plant has become only recently an important crop, it has been widely introduced into cultivation in other tropical, subtropical and even temperate areas.

The plant was grown by early settlers of the Cape of Good Hope before 1807. In South Africa it is commercially cultivated; canned fruits and jam are staple commodities, often exported. It is also cultivated and naturalized on a small scale in Gabon and other parts of Central Africa.

Soon after its adoption in the Cape of Good Hope (presumably the origin of the name 'Cape gooseberry'), it was carried to Australia, where it was one of the few fresh fruits of the early settlers in New South Wales. There it has long been grown on a large scale and is abundantly naturalized, as it is also in Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and northern Tasmania. It is also favored in New Zealand where it is said that "the housewife is sometimes embarrassed by the quantity of berries in the garden" ^[2], and government agencies promote increased culinary use. It is also grown in India, and is called Rasbhari (रसभरी) in Hindi.

The Cape gooseberry is also grown in North Eastern China, namely Heilongjiang province. A seasonal fruit harvested in late August through September. In Chinese pinyin, the fruit is informally referred to as "gu niao" (菇茑) and the scientific name is Physalis pubescens L or in Chinese pinyin "mao suan jiang" (毛酸浆).

Medical research, folk medicine and potential health value

Scientific studies of the cape gooseberry show its constituents, possibly polyphenols and/or carotenoids, demonstrate anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

In folk medicine, Physalis peruviana has been used as a medicinal herb for cancer, malaria, asthma, hepatitis, dermatitis and rheumatism.^{[citation needed]} None of these diseases, however, is confirmed in scientific studies as treatable by the cape gooseberry.

Pests and Diseases

In South Africa, the most important of the many insect pests that attack the cape gooseberry are cutworms, in seedbeds; red spider after plants have been established in the field; the potato tuber moth if the cape gooseberry is in the vicinity of potato fields. Hares damage young plants and birds eat the fruits if not repelled. In India, mites may cause defoliation. In Jamaica, the leaves were suddenly riddled by what were apparently flea beetles. In The Bahamas, whitefly attacks on the very young plants and flea beetles on the flowering plants required control. ^[2]

In South Africa, the most troublesome diseases are powdery mildew and soft brown scale. The plants are prone to root rots and viruses if on poorly-drained soil or if carried over to a second year. Therefore, farmers favor biennial plantings. Bacterial leaf spot (Xanthomonas spp.) occurs in Queensland. A strain of tobacco mosaic may affect plants in India ^[2]. In New Zealand plants can be infected by 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' ^[6]

References