| Author | Michaux | |
| Distribution | Limited essentially to the Sandhills region, though extending eastward somewhat to Wayne, Sampson, and Bladen counties, plus to New Hanover County.
This is a Sandhills endemic species, ranging only from southern NC through central SC to extreme eastern GA. | |
| Abundance | Infrequent to fairly common in the Sandhills, somewhat less numerous eastward to New Hanover County. Though the NCNHP considers it as a Watch List species, such designation seems unnecessary. | |
| Habitat | As might be expected, this species favors sandy soil, of pine/scrub oak sandhills, as well as in sandy clearings. | |
| Phenology | Blooms in June and July, and fruits from July to September. | |
| Identification | This is a somewhat low-growing Physalis, often just 1 foot tall and semi-erect, with spreading branches. It is a hairy species, with rather narrow leaves -- narrower than in nearly all other Physalis species. These leaves are lanceolate and about 2.5 inches long but barely 1-inch wide, usually with wavy (but not lobed) margins. The dangling yellow flowers are about 3/4-inch wide, with only small brown spots (if any at all) on the inside of the corolla. P. virginiana is somewhat similar but has wider leaves, has the brown spots inside the corolla quite prominent, and seldom grows in sandy soil of Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) habitats. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | Weakley (2018) mentions that earlier references often had this species ranging into the Midwest, but more recent studies have shown that this species is strictly limited to the narrow NE-SW band of the Sandhills region in NC, SC, and eastern GA.
| |
| Other Common Name(s) | Sandhills Ground-cherry | |
| State Rank | S2? [S3] | |
| Global Rank | G3 | |
| State Status | W1 | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | | |
| USACE-emp | | |
