Physalis polyphylla Greene; P. rigida Pollard & C. R. Ball; P. virginiana Miller var. polyphylla (Greene) Waterfall; P. virginiana var. sonorae (Torrey) Waterfall

Herbs glabrous or sparsely strigose, hairs simple, antrorse, to 0.5 mm. Stems erect, branch­ing frequently at distal nodes, 1–6 dm. Leaf blades narrowly ovate-lanceolate to lan­ceolate, 2.5–7.5 × 0.5–2.5 cm. Flowers: corolla 10–20 mm; anthers yellow. 2n = 24.

Flowering May–Oct. Fields, open woods, sandy areas, disturbed sites, sagebrush and pinyon-juniper communities; 200–2700 m; B.C.; Ariz., Ark., Calif., Colo., Idaho, Ill., Iowa, Kans., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Mont., Nebr., Nev., N.Mex., Okla., Oreg., S.Dak., Tex., Utah, Wash., Wis., Wyo.; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Sonora); introduced in Australia.

Variety longifolia is widespread in the United States from the prairie states westward. In the westernmost states, its distribution is restricted (Lincoln County, Nevada; Siskiyou County, California; Baker, Malheur, and Wallowa counties in Oregon; Asotin County, Washington), and these plants are slightly smaller than in the rest of the range. It reportedly does not persist in British Columbia.