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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Physalis peruviana''
| image = Gooseberry flower.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Cape gooseberry flower
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Solanales]]
| familia = [[Solanaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Physalis]]''
| species = '''''P. peruviana'''''
| binomial = ''Physalis peruviana''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
'''''Physalis peruviana''''' (commonly known as '''physalis''', '''Cape gooseberry''', '''ground-cherry''', '''golden berry''', '''uchuva''', '''Inca berry''', or '''uvilla'''--which also can refer to the [[Amazon Grape]]) is a species of ''[[Physalis]]'' indigenous to [[South America]], but grows well in [[Africa]]. It is related to the [[tomato]], [[potato]], and other members of the [[nightshade]] family and closely related to the [[tomatillo]] (but not to the cherry, [[gooseberry]] or [[Chinese gooseberry]], as its various names might suggest). The [[fruit]] is a small round [[berry]], about the size of a [[marble]], full of small [[seed]]s. It is bright yellow when ripe, and very sweet, making it ideal for baking into [[pie]]s and making [[jam]].
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.
[[Image:Physalis.jpg|thumb|left|Cape gooseberry fruit]]
Native to [[Colombia]], [[Chile]] and [[Peru]] where the fruits are casually eaten and occasionally sold in markets but the plant is still not 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 (Australia)|Victoria]], [[South Australia]], [[Western Australia]] and northern [[Tasmania]]. It is also grown in [[New Zealand]] where it is said that "the housewife is sometimes embarrassed by the quantity of berries in the garden", and government agencies promote increased [[culinary]] use.
[[Category:Solanaceae]]
{{Solanales-stub}}
{{fruit-stub}}
{{Colombia-stub}}
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Physalis peruviana''
| image = Gooseberry flower.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Cape gooseberry flower
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Solanales]]
| familia = [[Solanaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Physalis]]''
| species = '''''P. peruviana'''''
| binomial = ''Physalis peruviana''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
'''''Physalis peruviana''''' (commonly known as '''physalis''', '''Cape gooseberry''', '''ground-cherry''', '''golden berry''', '''uchuva''', '''Inca berry''', or '''uvilla'''--which also can refer to the [[Amazon Grape]]) is a species of ''[[Physalis]]'' indigenous to [[South America]], but grows well in [[Africa]]. It is related to the [[tomato]], [[potato]], and other members of the [[nightshade]] family and closely related to the [[tomatillo]] (but not to the cherry, [[gooseberry]] or [[Chinese gooseberry]], as its various names might suggest). The [[fruit]] is a small round [[berry]], about the size of a [[marble]], full of small [[seed]]s. It is bright yellow when ripe, and very sweet, making it ideal for baking into [[pie]]s and making [[jam]].
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.
[[Image:Physalis.jpg|thumb|left|Cape gooseberry fruit]]
Native to [[Colombia]], [[Chile]] and [[Peru]] where the fruits are casually eaten and occasionally sold in markets but the plant is still not 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 (Australia)|Victoria]], [[South Australia]], [[Western Australia]] and northern [[Tasmania]]. It is also grown in [[New Zealand]] where it is said that "the housewife is sometimes embarrassed by the quantity of berries in the garden", and government agencies promote increased [[culinary]] use.
[[Category:Solanaceae]]
{{Solanales-stub}}
{{fruit-stub}}
{{Colombia-stub}}