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Common Name: Apple of Peru
Scientific Name: Nicandra physalodes
Family: Solanaceae
Gordon Road
Henderson County, North Carolina
August 28, 2002
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A glabrous annual, 1 - 3 feet tall, with succlent stems and a 1 1/2 inch broad corolla of 5 fused petals. The fleshy berry is hidden by the 5-angled, inflated calyx that looks like a minature Japanese lantern. Introduced from South America, these weedy plants are now naturalized in our area in fields and waste places at scattered localities, chiefly in the mountains. July - September. [Justice, William S. and Bell, C. Ritchie, Wild Flowers of North Carolina. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1968]
A strong, spreading, annual herb, growing to a height of 4 feet. Leaves alternate, ovalish, the margins toothed. Flowers solitary, tubular, blue, 1 - 2 inches across and on curving stalks. Fruit, a 3 - 5-celled, many-seeded berry enclosed in an inflated calyx. Occasionally offered under the name "Shoo Fly". [Taylor, Norman - Ed., The Garden Dictionary, Houghton-Mifflin Co, Boston, New York, 1936]
A farmer told how, when he was a boy, his mother would crush the leaves of this plant into a bowl of milk. She would place these bowls in various places in the house to attract flies. After drinking from the bowl they would die. This was a method used by people in the area to keep flies down in their homes. He called the plant "Fly Weed." [As told to Lorna Rae Dever]
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Alphabetical Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z
Family Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z
Genus Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z