Medical Uses: The plant has been used as a diuretic for various urinary problems. There seems to be no scientific data to support this. Its use for bladder problems may go back to the doctrine of signatures . Physalis is the Greek word for bladder.
Warning:All nightshades must be considered somewhat dangerous. All parts of this plant except the ripe fruits may be toxic. It is possible that even the berries of some non native Physalis species may be toxic. Eating a large number of the ripe berries may cause diarrhea.

Similar Species: There are over a dozen species of Physalis these include:
Clammy Ground Cherry (P. heterophylla) which is the most common and has toothed, ovate leaves and is hairy.
Smooth Ground Cherry (P. subglabrata) which has narrower less toothed leaves and is almost hairless.
Virginia Ground Cherry (P. virginiana) Which is similar to Smooth Ground Cherry except hairy.
Chinese Lantern (P. alkekengi) (also known as Cape Gooseberry and Winter Cherry) is a native of eastern Europe and Asia and is often grown in flower gardens. It has white flowers and the berry and the calyx surrounding it turn red.

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One of the best general guides to wildflowers of the North Eastern and North Central United States. Newcomb's key is an excellent, simple method for identifying plants. Newcomb has drawings for almost every plant mentioned that are excellent aids to identifying the species. Though only the more common plants are covered this is often the first book I pick up when trying to identify a wildflower.

Wildflo wers of Tennessee the Ohio Valley and the Southern Appalachians

This is perhaps the best of many field guides covering this region. Featuring 446 excellent color photographs (located with the text) and mentioning as similar to those illustrated are another 800 or so species for a total coverage of over 1,200 species. The start of each family section includes line drawings of some of the species showing important features. The text includes the usual description, bloom season, range, habitat and additionally includes information such as medical uses and lore and how the species was named. This is the official field guide of the Tennessee Native Plant Society.